‘Just the first step’ – X launches Smart Cashtags with built-in crypto trading

Social media giant X (formerly Twitter) is doubling down on its ‘everything app’ vision after activating limited support for finance and crypto trading. 

On the 15th of April, X’s head of product, Nikita Bier, said the platform has launched Smart Cashtags. According to him, the feature allows users to get live charts on stocks and crypto tokens without leaving the platform. 

Additionally, users will be able to trade seamlessly from X, with a pilot test for Canada that WealthSimple powers. 

Bier added, 

Cashtags are just the first step in our commitment to be the best destination for the finance and crypto community. Our vision is more than just charts. The content on X is valuable & actionable, so trading should be frictionless.

X Money and ‘everything app’ plans

Bier noted that the update was a ‘small preview of what’s to come,’ but the launch wasn’t surprising. He had teased about it on the 13th of April, stating, 

Crypto has had a rough year. Maybe we should launch something to fix it.

In the past few months, the crypto market, specifically Bitcoin [BTC], declined by nearly 50% from a peak of $126K to $60K. As of writing, it had bounced back above $70K. The bearish trend was similar to the past crypto winter. 

However, X’s Smart Cashtags was not just meant to “fix” the current bearish crypto market sentiment. It was a step closer to its bold ‘everything app’ vision, where finance, social media, shopping, and any other service can be done under one roof, similar to Chinese WeChat. 

For payments, X Money, which began public access in early April, is set to rival CashApp and Venmo. Now, the trading capability will be handled by the Smart Cashtags. And both features support crypto. 

Reacting to the update, Kash Dhanda, crypto investor and advisor to Solana-based Jupiter Exchange, said, 

On-chain finance is eating the world, one step at a time. The future is bright, my friends.

But did the launch boost market sentiment? Slightly. 

Although the broader market sentiment was still in the ‘extreme fear’ zone, the crypto Fear and Greed Index climbed from 12 to 23 at press time.  In other words, the broader market panic eased, but the caution remained as it was still stuck in ‘extreme fear’ levels. 

Final Summary

• X has launched Smart Cashtags for real-time data for finance and crypto tokens.
• For X’s head of product, Nikita Bier, this was ‘just the first step’ and a preview of what’s to come, suggesting a broader ‘everything app’ vision