- Elon Musk’s interest in creating the ambitious “everything app” called “X” was evident even before he acquired Twitter in October 2022 for a staggering $44 billion.
- At the time of writing, after Twitter’s official rebranding to X, Musk’s bio now includes a “D” resembling the DOGE logo.
Elon Musk’s rebranding of Twitter as X has sparked anticipation within the crypto industry, leading many to wonder if this move will pave the way for the adoption of cryptocurrencies as a payment method on the newly branded platform.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 23, 2023
Elon Musk’s interest in creating the ambitious “everything app” called “X” was evident even before he acquired Twitter in October 2022 for a staggering $44 billion. He has further stated that if executed effectively, the X app, integrating various features from payments to shopping, could potentially encompass a significant portion of the global financial system.
By renaming Twitter as X, Musk reaffirms his long-standing commitment to creating an all-encompassing super app comparable to China’s WeChat, India’s PayTM, and Indonesia’s GoJek, which cater to diverse services and functionalities. The big question remains whether cryptocurrencies will play a crucial role in this transformative journey.
Twitter’s new CEO, Linda Yaccarino, unveiled the company’s fresh logo and enthusiastically announced the arrival of “X!” in a recent post. In her earlier tweets, Yaccarino hinted at incorporating Artificial Intelligence into the new super app, emphasizing that “X” symbolizes the future of limitless interactivity, encompassing audio, video, messaging, payments, and banking. The ultimate goal is to establish a global marketplace where ideas, goods, services, and opportunities can thrive.
Exploring Potential Payment Tokens
Considering the Twitter owner’s close ties to the cryptocurrency industry, it is conceivable that crypto payments might find a place in the super app’s future. Elon Musk’s extensive involvement with the popular meme coin, DOGE, also suggests the possibility of cryptocurrencies playing a significant role in “X’s” payment system.
With Musk’s new move to revolutionize users’ financial transactions. Which tokens are likely to be the approved payment methods by X? At the top of the list, we can expect Bitcoin and Dogecoin, given their prominence and popularity. Other potential tokens include Ripple’s XRP and Stellar (XLM).
Dogecoin (DOGE)
This is the obvious token that Musk will integrate on ‘X.’ At the time of writing, after Twitter’s official rebranding to X, Musk’s bio now includes a “D” resembling the DOGE logo.
Additionally, Elon Musk is closely linked to Dogecoin, often regarded as the “father of DOGE” by the crypto community. Whenever Musk discusses, tweets about, or shares pictures of his Shiba Inu dog, the price of Dogecoin experiences a significant surge.
In addition to Dogecoin’s strong association with the Twitter CEO, the blockchain presents several compelling reasons why it could be a suitable payment platform for X. Firstly, its fast transaction time (33 TPS) and low fees make it a promising payment system. Secondly, its widespread popularity ensures high liquidity, facilitating easy buying and selling and appealing to X users who may require swift asset liquidation when necessary.
Bitcoin (BTC)
Due to its popularity, widespread adoption, and status as the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, Bitcoin ranks as a preferred choice for those seeking to utilize it as a payment platform.
Additionally, X can utilize the Lightning Network, which operates on the Bitcoin blockchain and employs multi-signature wallets to establish off-chain payment channels. This implementation allows quicker transactions (1,000,000 TPS) at lower costs, enabling users to make transactions without waiting for block confirmations on the blockchain.
Ripple (XRP)
Ripple operates as a money transfer network tailored to meet the financial services industry’s requirements. XRP serves as the native cryptocurrency of the Ripple network. With its scalability at 1,500 transactions per second (TPS) and its eco-friendly characteristics that render it carbon-neutral and energy-efficient, XRP becomes a potential candidate for consideration by Musk.
Stellar Lumens (XLM)
Stellar may be a straightforward choice for Elon Musk due to its primary purpose of facilitating swift and dependable movement of financial resources at a minimal expense. Notably, each cross-border payment platform transaction requires only 0.00001 XLM (equivalent to $0.000014 at current rates).
Additionally, Stellar’s network can handle up to 4,000 transactions per second (TPS), with settlements occurring within 3 to 5 seconds, rendering it notably faster than numerous other blockchain platforms.
Ethereum (ETH)
Ethereum is the most extensively utilized blockchain platform globally, benefiting from its high demand and widespread adoption, contributing to its liquidity. This indicates a strong willingness among crypto users to continue using Ethereum.
Nevertheless, Ethereum’s transaction speeds of just 15 TPS and high gas fees might not position it as the preferred platform for Musk and X.
