Elon Musk has ambitions of making Twitter the world’s biggest financial institution Elon Musk has ambitions of making Twitter the world’s biggest financial institution
He did not say whether the company plans to further integrate cryptocurrency.
2 min read
Updated: Mar. 7, 2023 at 10:19 pm UTC
Cover art/illustration via CryptoSlate. Image includes combined content which may include AI-generated content.
Twitter owner Elon Musk said during a conference on March 7 that his social media company aims to become a leading payment service.
Musk wants Twitter to be a payment tool
In an interview with Morgan Stanley executive Michael Grimes, Musk said:
“I think it’s possible to become the biggest financial institution in the world, just by providing people with convenient payment options.”
Musk added that he wants to offer a “powerful finance experience” that is superior to PayPal, echoing comments that he made in late 2022 about Twitter becoming an all-in-one app.
He did not state whether any Twitter payments feature might involve cryptocurrency.
Grimes also asked Musk how traditional media can engage with the public on the level of celebrities that use Twitter. The discussion also drew attention to public engagement from Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao and former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried — the latter of whom is notable for defying his lawyers’ advice not to talk to the public.
In response to Grimes’ question, Musk noted that traditional media requires time for reporting, editing, and publication, whereas Twitter discussions occur in real time.
Will Twitter adopt crypto?
Prior to Musk’s acquisition of Twitter, he was expected to introduce various cryptocurrency features. In April 2022, he hinted: “Maybe even an option to pay in Doge?”
Later, in September 2022, leaked messages revealed that Musk had briefly considered deeper blockchain integration with on-chain message storage and microtransactions. However, as his plans to purchase Twitter progressed, Musk abandoned plans to integrate cryptocurrency and ruled that blockchain-based Twitter “isn’t possible.”
Musk recently alluded to his inconsistent attitude toward cryptocurrency. On March 3, he tweeted: “I used to be in crypto, but now I got interested in AI.” Despite the tongue-in-cheek tone of the tweet, the value of Dogecoin (DOGE) fell 7.5% within an hour.
Though Musk has not integrated crypto with Twiter, the platform introduced minor features — such as NFT support and ETH tipping — prior to his arrival in October 2022.
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Mike Dalton
Before transitioning to crypto writing in 2018, Mike studied library and information sciences. Currently, he resides on Canada's West Coast.
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X (formerly Twitter) is an American social media company based in San Francisco, California, that was founded by Jack Dorsey, Noah Glass, Biz Stone, and Evan Williams in March 2006 and was launched July of the same year.
South African-born Elon Musk has founded several companies, including X.com (which later became PayPal), SpaceX and Tesla Motors.