The support is available today through dozens of extensions on launch, and it's available to both Affiliates and Partners.

No, the thought of having to pay just to interact with a streamer isn't thrilling -- some of these features have been available for free, including channel bots that don't require extensions. This does give you a better reason to buy Bits outside of pure financial support, however. And it's not just another source of revenue for Twitch streamers -- they can use it as a gatekeeper that keeps (some) trolls out of on-stream events. There is the chance that hosts could misuse their newfound power, but it could also create new opportunities.