Reading 3 min Views 6 Published Updated
Elon Musk posted a user update with more information about Twitter’s rebranding to X, saying it’s part of a larger plan to bring financial services to the platform.
On July 25, Musk tweeted that his X Corp venture had acquired Twitter in the name of free speech and to advance the development of its “everything app,” also called “X.” He hinted that in the coming months, users will be able 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 that the addition of “pervasive communications” along with financial services and rich messaging is not in line with Twitter’s original ethos and thus also deserves a name change.
Officially, the platform branding has lost the blue bird and was replaced by the “X” symbol on July 24, 2023.
In an interview, Musk said that if done right, X could cover “half of the global financial system” with plans for banking, payments and more. Some compare the potential of App X to China’s WeChat.
X is finally arriving!
X will be an “everything app” ie super app for US (like WeChat of China)
• Social: network, msgs, video, content
• Finance: banking, payments, data“Overtime it would be HALF of the global financial system” – Elon Muskpic.twitter.com/wWywAdYRZR
— Brandon Hoffman (@BrandonHoffman_) July 14, 2023
Before the public became aware of Twitter’s rebrand, Musk had advocated integrating financial services into the platform ever since he acquired the platform for $44 billion back in October 2022.
In April, he briefly changed the Twitter logo to Doge, which caused memcoin (DOGE) to rise by 20% within an hour after a short stunt.
A few weeks later, CNBC reported that Twitter, in partnership with fintech platform eToro, would introduce a new feature that would allow users to trade cryptocurrencies and stocks on the platform.
Related: TikTok launches text messaging feature to compete with Twitter and Threads
Shortly after the rebrand, users noticed the symbol (DOGE) added to Musk’s profile, sparking speculation among the cryptocurrency community about the potential integration of Dogecoin for payments on the platform.
Despite Musk’s ongoing relationship with the cryptocurrency community through his advocacy of memcoin, cryptocurrency Twitter has had mixed reactions to the platform’s rebranding.
Some in the community called the decision “crazy” and that they would still call the platform by its old name, while others suggested keeping the Twitter name and using X as the platform’s wallet.