In a surprising move, Elon Musk’s super app, previously Twitter, codenamed “X”, appears to be on a quest for a financial data titan to construct a trading hub within the app. According to a report by Semafor, X recently approached financial data entities, seeking real-time stock data and other relevant financial content proposals. However, the catch is that these entities are not to expect compensation from X, but rather, they should specify their investment potential in the project.
Despite this request circulating among financial data providers, Musk maintains a wary stance, asserting that “no work is being done on this to the best of my knowledge.” Is it a subtle pointer that such a service is under construction but unlikely to materialize soon? Only time will reveal.
This idea of embedded trading hubs within apps, particularly X, is not necessarily novel. Earlier, eToro, a well-known social investing platform, expressed interest in presenting X users with direct crypto and asset trading services through a collaboration with the application.
Considering Musk’s fondness for digital currencies, significant emphasis on dogecoin (DOGE) – the meme coin – the planned trading harbor could permit, and easily for that matter, the trading of cryptocurrencies. Simultaneously, it wouldn’t be shocking to see bitcoin (BTC), emerge as a primary asset listed for trade due to its perceived regulatory safety.
It’s noteworthy that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) gave Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, directives earlier this week to discontinue trading all cryptocurrencies, exempting BTC. This suggests that authorities might not frown upon that specific cryptocurrency.
In another vein, Musk had already announced plans to include payment solutions, initially in fiat currencies, to the X platform. However, he did hint at the unforeseen adoption of crypto assets down the line.
Rewinding to July, Musk rebranded Twitter to X to create an all-in-one app, similar to China’s WeChat. This move was to make way for a broader selection of services, including payments and gaming. As expected, the crypto experts’ quarters responded favorably to the rebranding, projecting it as a potential ‘game-changer’ for the blockchain ecosystem.
Yet, as promising as all these sound, one cannot shed caution. The playfield of tech-aided financial services is fraught with risk and one can only tread with prudence as developments unfold. A trading hub on X is an ambitious plan, but its success will rely heavily on regulatory compliance and user adoption.
Source: Coindesk
