The Role of Crypto in the Elon Musk’s Everything App

The saga of Elon Musk and his attempt to buy Twitter has no end. Last week, the same discussion was reignited again when the same company apparently decided to restart negotiations about the possibility of the world’s richest man purchasing the social media platform. The sum in the process of negotiation is still at 44 billion USD, but the seemingly endless story got another big twist, naturally thanks to Musk’s Twitter account. After spending days arguing about the Russian invasion of Ukraine and how to end the bloodshed, Musk dropped big tech-related news on his account. He stated that the process of purchasing Twitter is important because it would allow the acceleration of the X. The same single letter, according to Musk, stands for an everything app. 

The cryptic message is not as odd and unfathomable as it might first seem, being that everything apps already exist across the globe and all of them came into existence through a range of iterations and variations, growing organically as both technology and business ventures. But, Mask wants to build a brand new one and do it inside of the Western sphere of influence, which brings a range of issues of its own. Yet, for the cryptosphere and the active community of esports players and fans, developers, and many more individuals and organizations, the X app could hold a massive cryptocurrency potential. This could be visible very quickly and could usher in a brand new age for digital currencies, especially if the X app becomes at least a planned reality, not just an Elon Musk tweet. 

The Everything App Concept

Right after the SpaceX billionaire published his tweet, many began to speculate what the X app would even be. However, tech experts quickly pointed out that Musk referred to the concept of a super app, which is a multifaceted platform for a range of services. Most of these are based on communication applications, which then grew into some kind of financial capability. 

From there, thanks to their in-app wallets, users got an opportunity to access a range of services, including food ordering, bookings of all kinds, and much more. Additionally, the apps themselves also embedded some form of loyalty systems, which would reward users, mainly stopping short of having an actual digital currency of their own. That would be a regulatory step too far. However, platforms like Grab or the much more famous WeChat are very popular across the countries in Asia, for example. 

X App and Twitter

Even before the recent tweet, Musk was clear about his intentions. In a podcast back in May, he said that the US is in dire need of a super app. To get there, he stated that he would like to either build something completely new or convert Twitter once he managed to purchase it. Musk also gave a detailed explanation of why he thinks that WeChat is a good example of the future US needs. In China, according to Musk, hundreds of millions live on WeChat. 

It acts as a Twitter-like platform, along with PayPal and many other functionalities. All of this is presented with a great interface that makes it an excellent super app. Yet, as Musk noted, there is nothing like that outside of China, at least not in the full sense of scope, but also in utility and capability. Besides, the WeChat app also acts as a form of a community gathering space or a digital town square, where users can post videos and leave comments. That also implies that Musk believes these super apps can grow almost on their own, mutating further following the needs of their huge user communities. 

Payment Processing

Inside the super app, the capability to make payments and transfer funds seems almost like a necessity and not an additional feature. That is why Musk believes that these apps can quickly and effectively cross over to digital currencies like bitcoin tokens or any other blockchain networks. In theory, the foundations of payments and the in-app wallet are already present when the integration takes place. 

That option would be a huge boon for the crypto community, even if the new owners only implied that they want to add some digital currency to their super app. Through that process, Musk believes that he stands a chance of drastically transforming Twitter if he gets the same possibility with its purchase. 

Expanding the User Base

If Musk begins to work with Twitter and slowly – or quickly – turn it into his X app, he believes that the possibilities for success would be limitless. In fact, according to the plans he is developing, he would be able to grow the user base of the same social media from 200 million presently to at least one billion active users. 

However, while Musk is ready to act now, he is also realistic about the timeline for the finished X app. That timeline could be very long, but purchasing Twitter would be something that could accelerate it by 3 to 5 years. 

Not a New Idea

The X app, according to the man who devised it, is not a new idea. However, there are a number of similar ideas being floated in the US for a range of years. Most of them are coming from heavy hitters who have very big ambitions as well. Facebook and Meta, for example, have pushed their presence into the e-commerce domain with a lot of force. 

Snapchat is aggressively experimenting with P2P payment systems and looking for additional ways to offer these to its audience. Walmart, out of all of the companies out there, wants to move into the area of digital banking, while Starbucks is experimenting with an NFC-based loyalty program. Lastly, the biggest name in this arena is Amazon. This company has already pushed its presence into a range of everyday activities for US customers and its potential to build an everything app is likely the biggest at the present moment.