Elon Musk’s X platform ‘end goal’ could shake up crypto market

An executive at Elon Musk’s social media company X has revealed the platform’s payments “end goal” could play havoc with the Bitcoin price and wider crypto market.

Musk has previously stated his desire to have X become an “everything app“. The social network’s payments chief information security officer, Christopher Stanley, recently wrote on the platform: “The end goal is if you ever have any incentive to take money out of our system, then we have failed, you shouldn’t ever need to take money out because you should be able to do anything you need on our platform.”

Not just tipping. I can pull money into X and store it in my X Wallet and send money to any X Payments user. Think Venmo at first. Then, as things evolve, you can gain interest, buy products, eventually use it to buy things in stores (think Apple Pay), etc. The end goal is if you…

— Christopher Stanley (@cstanley) April 22, 2024

The speculation comes as the company’s money-transmitter licenses will now allow it to facilitate U.S. dollar and cryptocurrency payments on the platform.

“Think Venmo at first,” Stanley wrote. “Then, as things evolve, you can gain interest, buy products, eventually use it to buy things in stores (think Apple Pay), etc.”

Last month, Musk hinted at the possibility of purchasing Tesla cars using his preferred memecoin cryptocurrency, Dogecoin, proclaiming “Dogecoin to the moon.”

Following Musk’s acquisition of Twitter and its rebranding to X, there has been considerable speculation about the potential addition of support for crypto such as Bitcoin, Dogecoin, and other cryptocurrencies like Ethereum and XRP, similar to what PayPal did in late 2020. In October, Musk said: “If it involves money. It’ll be on our platform. Money or securities or whatever.”

Mark my words, 𝕏 will become the largest financial platform in the world one day.

“When I say payments, I actually mean someone’s entire financial life… If it involves money, it’ll be on our platform. Money or securities or whatever. So, it’s not just like send $20 to my… pic.twitter.com/ckksKEvU5b

— Teslaconomics (@Teslaconomics) April 27, 2024

Elon Musk’s cryptocurrency connections

Musk’s company, PayPal, has been a major player in the recent growth of cryptocurrency. In late 2020, they began allowing users to buy and sell Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and Bitcoin cash.

This move is seen as a contributing factor to the surge in Bitcoin’s price in 2021, which saw it reach nearly $70,000. PayPal went even further by launching its own dollar-pegged stablecoin cryptocurrency.

However, Musk has faced criticism for his alleged “part-time” engagement with his automaker firm Tesla, leading to investor unrest and a noticeable dip in car sales, especially in the U.S. market. But despite Tesla’s issues, Dogecoin’s market position as a top meme coin may remain unaffected, though broader market perceptions could eventually influence its value.

Featured image: Canva / The Royal Society / Debbie Rowe