Elon Musk’s social media platform X will soon allow users to trade stocks and cryptocurrencies directly from their timelines, as the company moves deeper into financial services.
Nikita Bier, the company’s head of product, described upcoming features that include “smart cash tags.” These will allow users to interact with stock tickers in posts and execute trades from the application.
The announcement comes as the company prepares to launch an external beta version of its in-house payments system, X Money. Musk said the tool has entered internal testing and will be available to a limited group of users within one to two months.
The idea is for X to be a one-stop platform where users can message, post, send money and invest, a version of Musk’s “apps for everything” vision.
He compared the launch of financial tools like X Money to adding banking services within apps, saying users could finally manage most of their daily digital activities without leaving the platform.
Elon Musk’s company has dabbled in crypto in the past. His electric car maker Tesla has 11,509 Bitcoins on its balance sheet, down from its initial investment of 42,300 Bitcoins in early 2021. SpaceX currently controls approximately 8,285 Bitcoins.
Musk has also expressed support for the meme-inspired cryptocurrency Dogecoin over the years. He said that in 2022, SpaceX will accept DOGE as certain commodities, echoing Tesla’s earlier move. Earlier this month, Musk said he might “send DOGE to the moon.”
