Key takeaways
- X, formerly Twitter, has gotten money transmitter licences in seven US states.
- The licence allows the platform to run as a money service business (MSB), facilitating cross-border transactions.
- This could be part of Elon Musk's plan to make X an everything app.
On October 4, 2022, Elon Musk posted "Buying Twitter is an accelerant to creating X, the everything app." He proved this when he changed Twitter to X nine months later.
Now it seems enabling financial transactions is the first phase of transforming X into the everything app.
According to Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System (NMLS), — a system that helps regulate mortgage lending in the US — X now has a money transmitter licence across seven states in the US, with Rhode Island being the latest. It got the money transmitter in Rhode Island on Monday, August 28, 2023.
What does a money transmitter licence mean?
In Rhode Island, businesses that require a money transmitter licence are those that are "transmitting money for its customers, including traditional wire transfers (like Western Union) and electronic transfers (like PayPal)."
A money transmitter licence means X is a money service business (MSB) just like Stripe, a US fintech company that facilitates global payments.
Companies with this licence act as intermediaries between individuals or businesses that need to move money across borders.
What will X do with the licence?
While X hasn't indicated what it will be doing with the licence, it can now allow people to send and receive money across the seven states — Arizona, Georgia, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island — where it has received the money transmitter licence.
It can also become a crypto exchange
The money transmitter licence also allows X to operate a crypto wallet business. In Rhode Island, the license covers "the activity of “maintaining control of… transactions in virtual currency” “on behalf of others.” This includes businesses that control virtual currency transactions between customers. Such businesses may be commonly referred to as crypto-currency exchange platforms and/ or peer-to-peer exchangers."
Making X a crypto exchange or crypto payments platform could be in the works for X.
Be the smartest in the room
Give it a try, you can unsubscribe anytime. Privacy Policy.
Musk has unequivocally declared his interest in cryptocurrencies several times on the X.
The Tesla billionaire had a choke hold on the crypto market in 2021, influencing market prices with his tweets. His “SpaceX is going to put a literal Dogecoin on the literal moon” post, sent the price of Dogecoin — his favourite cryptocurrency — up by 30%.
His electric car company, Tesla, is reportedly holding 9,720 bitcoins and some Dogecoins.
Now that X has the licence to run a crypto exchange and an MSB, a finance feature could be coming to the platform soon, but will it give it an edge over competitors?
