Elon Musk posted an update for users with more information on the rebranding of Twitter to X saying it is part of a larger plan to incorporate financial services on the platform.
On July 25, Musk tweeted that his enterprise X Corp acquired Twitter in the name of freedom of speech and to advance the development of his “everything app” also to be called “X.” He hinted that in the coming months, users can expect to conduct their “entire financial world” on the platform.
Twitter was acquired by X Corp both to ensure freedom of speech and as an accelerant for X, the everything app. This is not simply a company renaming itself, but doing the same thing.
The Twitter name made sense when it was just 140 character messages going back and forth – like…
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 25, 2023
He also mentioned the addition of “comprehensive communications,” together with the financial services and extended posts did not fit the original ethos of Twitter and therefore also merited the name change.
Officially, the platform’s branding lost its blue bird and shifted over to the “X” symbol on July 24, 2023.
In an interview, Musk said that if executed correctly, X has the potential to encompass “half of the global financial system” with plans for banking, payments and more. Some have likened the potential of the X app to be akin to China’s WeChat.
X is finally arriving!
X will be an “everything app” i.e. super app for U.S. (like WeChat of China)
• Social: network, msgs, video, content
• Finance: banking, payments, data“Overtime it would be HALF of global financial system” – Elon Muskpic.twitter.com/wWywAdYRZR
— Brandon Hoffman (@BrandonHoffman_) July 14, 2023
Prior to public awareness of the Twitter rebranding Musk has been advocating for the integration of financial services onto the platform since he acquired the platform for $44 billion back in October 2022.
In April, he briefly changed Twitter’s logo to Doge which caused the memecoin (DOGE) to surge 20% in the hour following the brief stunt.
A few weeks after, CNBC reported that Twitter will introduce a new feature, in partnership with fintech platform eToro, that will allow users to trade cryptocurrencies and stocks on the platform.
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Shortly after the rebrand, users noticed the (DOGE) symbol added to Musk’s profile, which sparked rumors among the crypto community of a potential Dogecoin integration for payments on the platform.
Despite Musk’s ongoing relationship with the crypto community via his championing of the memecoin, crypto Twitter had mixed reactions to the rebranding of the platform.
Some in the community called the decision “insane” and that they would still call the platform by its old name, while others suggested keeping the Twitter name and using X as a wallet for the platform.
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