X, the social media platform owned by Elon Musk, is preparing to introduce features allowing users to trade stocks and cryptocurrencies directly from their timelines. This includes 'Smart Cashtags' set to launch soon, alongside an external beta for its payments system. The announcements coincide with Musk's renewed support for Dogecoin, boosting its price.
Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, has reaffirmed his commitment to integrating financial services into X, formerly Twitter. In a recent xAI meeting uploaded to X, Musk described the platform as intended to become the "central source of all monetary transactions," predicting it will be a "game-changer" with rollout over the coming months. He noted X has around 600 million monthly users and over 1 billion app installations, aiming for more than 1 billion daily active users by enhancing features like communications, Grok AI, and X Money.
On February 15, X head of product Nikita Bier announced upcoming features, including Smart Cashtags, which will enable trading stocks and crypto directly from the timeline. Bier clarified that X will not handle trade execution or act as a broker but will provide financial data tools and links. The launch is expected in a couple of weeks. Last month, Bier promoted Smart Cashtags with examples featuring bitcoin, bonk, and base cryptocurrencies, sparking speculation about full X Money services.
This development follows Musk's recent comments on Dogecoin. Responding to a user on X, Musk said "Yes" to the statement "Doge on the moon is inevitable," and told a Tesla fan account "Maybe next year" regarding his 2021 promise to send a literal Dogecoin to the moon. These remarks, amid a bitcoin price recovery from around $60,000 to over $70,000, lifted Dogecoin's price by nearly 20% in 24 hours, though it remains above its 2023 lows of about 60 cents.
Musk envisions X as an "everything app" rivaling WeChat, where users can manage their financial lives. Former X CEO Linda Yaccarino echoed this, stating, "You’ll be able to come to X and be able to transact your whole financial life on the platform... whether I can pay you for the pizza that we shared last night or make an investment or a trade." X Money is currently in internal testing, with an external beta planned for a limited user group in one to two months.
Tesla holds approximately $800 million in bitcoin, underscoring Musk's ongoing ties to crypto despite reduced public commentary.
