Elon Musk Announces X Payments to Launch in Mid 2024

The recently rebranded social media platform X, previously known as Twitter, is expanding its suite with the introduction of a peer-to-peer payment service, aiming to evolve the X app into an all-encompassing "everything app."

This strategic move, reminiscent of popular payment platforms like Venmo and PayPal, reflects Elon Musk's vision for X as a central hub for users' online activities. The announcement of this upcoming feature was made via an official blog post, emphasizing X's commitment to enhancing user experience and exploring new avenues in commerce. Although the exact launch date remains undisclosed, Musk hinted at a potential rollout around mid-2024 during discussions with Ark Invest CEO, Cathie Wood.

The introduction of this payment system underscores X's goal of consolidating various aspects of users' lives within a single platform, in line with Musk's ambition to establish X as a comprehensive app for social networking, video content, and more. X Payments has already taken significant steps in its preparation, including securing money transmitter licenses for 10 states and registering to operate in 32, as reported by TechCrunch in December.

Musk's interest in digital payments traces back to his involvement with X.com, later known as PayPal. Despite his subsequent disengagement from the online payments sector, Musk has consistently expressed a desire to re-enter this domain through X, which he acquired for $44 billion in October 2022.

Notably, Twitter had filed to establish Twitter Payments LLC prior to Musk's acquisition. Drawing inspiration from China's WeChat, which seamlessly integrates messaging and peer-to-peer transactions, Musk envisions X as a multifunctional app offering comprehensive communication and financial services by 2025. 

The announcement of X Payments also spiked Dogecoin over 12%. Trading volumes shot up over 200% over the weekend. Futures analysts state the open interest rose from $200 million to $430 million showing more people are betting the Dogecoin bein implemented into X Payments in some way.