Elon Musk has just announced that the long-awaited X Money External Beta is imminent. Speaking at an xAI all-hands meeting, Musk revealed the integrated payment system is currently live for internal testing only and will transition to external within the next 60 days (more or less).
What is Included in the X Money External Beta
The X Money External Beta is the first public rollout of X’s native digital wallet and will use Visa Direct for real-time funding through debit cards, allowing peer-to-peer transfers and fund storage directly on the platform. During the first phase of the beta, all transactions will be in U.S. dollars and will be supported by X Payments LLC’s regulatory/financial progress (money transmitter licenses in more than 40 states); however, X Payments is not yet at full national coverage because some states (like New York) are going through stricter regulatory/financial review.
Importance for Crypto and FinTech
Elon Musk’s announcement confirms the idea of creating an “everything app,” and shows that there is now a transition from abstract speculation to actual work on the project. The release of “X Money” (external beta) has started with fiat currency, but the infrastructure created can be used with crypto (e.g., Bitcoin and Dogecoin).
Musk has linked X Money’s eventual crypto integration to Bitcoin’s role as an energy-backed asset in an AI-driven future. I. This means that X will be a direct competitor to both PayPal and Venmo, as well as potentially providing an on-ramp that will allow over 600 million users to use digital assets in a regulated way.
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