The news: X plans to let users trade stocks and cryptocurrencies directly from their X timelines via a new feature called “Smart Hashtags.” A few days ago, Elon Musk said the X Money payments service was being tested internally, and he expects a limited public release within the next two months.

Zooming out: X Money is part of Elon Musk’s super-app ambitions for X, which include bundling the social media platform with peer-to-peer (P2P) payments, digital wallet features, and other financial tools.

X has been teasing and slowly rolling out related products. In 2023, then-Twitter partnered with eToro on real-time quotes for stocks and crypto. In 2024, X partnered with eToro on investor education. At CES 2025, X’s then-CEO Linda Yaccarino confirmed a planned launch of X Money.

Trendspotting:

• X Money faces fierce competition from large, nonbank payment firms such as Venmo and PayPal, which have always been big nonbank players in P2P. As the consumer fintech market has consolidated, several companies have become nonbank payment apps: For example, Chime and Robinhood offer P2P features, and Zelle competes for P2P volume.
• X as an investment tool faces direct competition from retail investment tools that already have a sizable customer base. Those include brokerage fintechs focused on traditional assets, like Webull, Stash, and Acorns; crypto trading platforms like Coinbase and Kraken; and investing super-apps like Robinhood.

Implications for banks: Whether it succeeds as an investing or payment super-app, X is demonstrating the competition banks face for user engagement. It's exceedingly unlikely that X or any other app will draw primary customers away from banks, but by bundling certain financial tools and offering a more compelling experience, consumers may reduce their reliance on banks. Bankers cannot take for granted that customers will use a social media channel as an alternative.