After announcing that he will (maybe…possibly…probably) be buying Twitter, Elon Musk followed up with a mysterious tweet about his “everything app,” also referred to as X. The idea could have far-reaching consequences for crypto.
X is coming.
What is an Everything App?
“Everything Apps” are just that: apps that contain everything in one place, including social media capabilities, online shopping, video, payment processing, music and much more. China’s WeChat app (with over 1 billion monthly users) is perhaps the best example. It’s become deeply ingrained in everyday life and allows users to call a taxi, go shopping and message their friends from a single application.
Musk has floated the idea of an Everything App before. At a Q&A in June, he noted that people “basically live on WeChat” but no such equivalent exists in the West. Other platforms have tried the WeChat model (including Snapchat) but quickly backtracked due to high operating costs. Musk followed up his tweet with another claiming that buying Twitter “accelerates X by 3-5 years.”
What does this mean for crypto?
Elon is one of crypto’s loudest cheerleaders. Once the everything app is sufficiently trusted, it will incorporate a payment system “whether it’s crypto or fiat.” Given Musk’s fascination with crypto, the smart money would be on the app including both. Speculation is rife around Dogecoin; commentators wonder whether it will be X’s token of choice.
With other tech giants making aggressive moves into the NFT Space, it seems likely that any “everything” app would have to incorporate digital ownership. This brings ETH into the equation; and, given Tesla’s commitment to Bitcoin, it seems reasonable to assume that BTC will be included too.
Musk likely plans to use X as a way to meet his target of increasing Twitter’s user base to “at least a billion.” If Twitter morphs into a true “everything” application, it represents a game-changing moment for crypto. All of a sudden millions, perhaps hundreds of millions—maybe even billions—of people would have direct access to crypto on their smartphones. They’d have utility too: the app would enable them to make seamless peer-to-peer transactions in daily life. That, surely, would represent the biggest step towards mass adoption yet.
Sources
https://twitter.com/teslaownersSV/status/1578032475644735489
https://twitter.com/elonmusk
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/musk-twitter-wechat-style-super-153906300.html
