Nikita Bier, X's head of product, may have just given a hint about the company's upcoming launch. In a recent post that garnered over 677,000 views in a matter of hours, Bier stated, "Crypto has had a rough year. Maybe we should launch something to fix it." This statement comes after Elon Musk confirmed that X Money will be launching in April, featuring peer-to-peer transfers, bank deposits, a debit card, and cashback rewards, all built in partnership with Visa and available in over 40 US states.
However, the details of what this product will entail remain unclear. While it has been described as a fiat-based product with no confirmed crypto functionality, the company has not explicitly ruled out the use of blockchain technology. The product's design does overlap with areas that crypto has focused on, such as instant payments and yield on dollar balances.
Recently, X hired Benji Taylor, the former Chief Product Officer at Aave and Head of Design at Base, which has sparked speculation about the potential integration of crypto into X's payments stack. Bier has expressed admiration for Taylor's work, calling one of his past products one of the best-designed he had seen. The question remains whether X will compete with crypto for users or eventually incorporate crypto rails into its platform.
For now, the ambiguity surrounding X's intentions continues, leaving the crypto community to wonder if the next catalyst for growth will come from within the industry or from external platforms like X.