While Twitter’s sudden rebranding to X has caught many by surprise, it seems Elon Musk has had a radical transformation for the platform in mind for a while.
Here’s what we know about how he plans to change the old “Twitter” – and what it might mean for crypto.
In a tweet published on Tuesday, Musk said that Twitter was acquired by X Corp. both to accelerate X’s growth and to “ensure freedom of speech,” one of the billionaire’s primary commitments upon buying the platform last year.
According to the billionaire, Twitter’s name made sense “when it was just 140 character messages going back and forth – like birds tweeting.” However, given the variety of new features on the platform (ex. Long form video) and many others to come, he has chosen to “bid adieu to the bird.”
“In the months to come, we will add comprehensive communications and the ability to conduct your entire financial world,” he added.
Musk expanded on X’s financial aspirations in an interview this week, when he explained that it could potentially become “half of the world’s financial system,” and the “most efficient database for the thing that is money.”
His statement has raised questions about whether certain crypto-financial integrations could be a part of his plans. Dogecoin – the entrepreneur’s favorite cryptocurrency – is in particular focus, especially after he added the memecoin’s logo to the location field of his X profile on Tuesday.
Twitter CEO Linda Yaccarino added on Monday that X will be “powered by AI,” onboarding a fast-growing trend among major tech companies like OpenAI, Google, and most recently Apple.
“X will be the platform that can deliver, well….everything,” she tweeted.
Musk’s corporate life has a long history with the letter X: he purchased X.com in 1999, owns SpaceX, and attempted to rename Paypal to “X” over a decade ago.
Critics have suggested that his intent to promote the letter will ultimately bite him by scrapping Twitter’s well know brand. However, Musk is convinced that X will become an even more powerful brand of its own.
“X will become the most valuable brand on Earth. Make my words,” he said.