X is set up to deploy investment and trading capabilities as Elon Musk advances to transform the platform into a full-fledged financial and social ecosystem, X CEO Linda Yaccarino said in a recent interview with the Financial Times. According to Yaccarino, the ambition is to accommodate not only social networking, but all the financial tools within a single app.
“It’s whether you can pay for the pizza you shared last night, invest or trade. That’s the future,” said X CEO.
Last month, Elon Musk confirmed that X Money, a peer-to-peer digital wallet service, will soon be launched in a partnership with Visa. This feature allows users to link their debit cards to their digital wallets, providing tight control over the initial rollout focused on protecting personal savings.
Talked to FT, Yaccarino said the service would debut in the US before expanding internationally, allowing users to store value on the platform, purchase products and store creators directly. The company is also investigating the launch of X-branded credit or debit cards that could arrive later this year.
“The whole commercial ecosystem and the financial ecosystem are appearing on platforms that don’t exist today,” Jaccarino said.
The expansion is now working to collect advertising revenue after X acquired Musk’s $44 billion platform in 2022.
Yaccarino reported that 96% of pre-acquisition ad clients have returned to the platform. Research firm Emarketer Projects X’s revenues reach $2.3 billion this year, compared to $1.9 billion last year, but global revenue in 2022 fell below $4.1 billion.
The CEO also worked on a recent report on advertising disputes, dismissing it as “hearsay” and rejecting the Wall Street Journal Report, which claimed several brands were threatened with buying ads on X.