X launches new Cashtags format on iOS in the US and Canada

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After previewing its updated Cashtags display in January, X has launched its new Cashtag format to all users on iOS. The feature provides active asset listings that can be added to X posts.

X’s smart Cashtags provide embedded market info, so users can tap through to get real-time price info and mentions.

As explained by Nikita Bier, X’s head of product: “X has always been the best source of financial news for traders and investors. Billions of dollars are allocated every day based on what people read on Timeline. Today we’re launching our new Cashtags feature in the US and Canada on iPhone, bringing real-time financial data to X.”

In a follow-up post, Bier confirmed that Cashtags are now available globally on iOS.

Bier said X will automatically suggest relevant stocks or crypto tokens when users search for or post a Cashtag address.

“Anyone who taps a Cashtag will see posts mentioning it along with its price chart - without ever leaving X,” Bier said. “This ensures that you’re always matched to the chatter for the right stock or token.”

The introduction of expanded financial market data is another step toward letting users conduct full banking and financial activity in the app. Eventually, if X owner Elon Musk gets his way, X users will also be able to send money, do their banking and even apply for loans through the platform.

Musk’s long-standing plan for X stems back to his first concept for the platform in the early 2000’s, when his original X.com banking platform merged with PayPal. The intention with X now is to create a fully functioning digital banking platform where a user’s entire financial portfolio is facilitated in-app.

Musk has spoken about this at length. As reported by The Verge in 2023, just months after Musk acquired the social media business, Musk told X staff that he wanted the app to eventually be able to facilitate payments, stock trading and everything else that’s currently offered by banks.  

“If it involves money. It’ll be on our platform,” Musk said.

Musk’s view, based on his time at banking platforms including PayPal, is that a combined banking platform, aligned with social media elements, will facilitate a version of China-based WeChat for the U.S. and other markets, with WeChat becoming a critical app for everyday life for China-based users, facilitating all kinds of activity.

Musk’s “everything app” vision for X is based on that concept, though his plans for an expansion into financial elements haven’t gone as smoothly as he would have hoped.

X has been denied a money transmitter license in some U.S. states, which is a critical first step to facilitating payments.  

Regulatory groups also have raised concerns about X’s business make-up and investors, with Musk’s public criticisms of various regulatory and government organizations likely increasing scrutiny on the proposed X Money model.

This week, The Verge reported that Senator Elizabeth Warren raised questions about the safety elements of the X Money proposal, reporting that Warren said “consumers, our national security, and the stability of the financial system,” could be at risk, based on Musk’s “track record operating X.”

X is planning to release an early access model for X Money soon, but without licensing approval, and amid more questions from authorities about the project, it may never actually get off the ground.

But even so, X is looking to push ahead, and Cashtags, Bier said, are “the first step in our commitment to be the best destination for the finance and crypto community.