Elon Musk's X Explores Stablecoins to Pay Influencers and Content Providers

Summary

Social media platform X is in talks to explore how stablecoins, such as Circle's USDC, can be used to pay royalties to influential users for uploading content, according to a person familiar with the plans. The move would extend Elon Musk's embrace of stablecoins, which are already used by SpaceX's Starlink service for cross-border payments. The discussions come as X phases out its Revenue Sharing program and rolls out an Original Content Rewards Program.

Key Facts

X in talks to use stablecoins such as Circle's USDC to pay royalties to influential users for content
Conversations with X ongoing, per a person who also works with other social media platforms testing stablecoins
SpaceX already uses stablecoins to collect cross-border payments from Starlink customers in emerging markets
X phasing out Revenue Sharing program; rolling out Original Content Rewards Program (launches Sept 8)
New program rewards creators for original ideas, expertise, reporting, creativity, commentary
Stablecoin market cap over $300 billion
X Money is being built as X's payments system; X secured U.S. payment licenses and partnered with Visa on digital wallet services
Musk hired crypto veteran Benji Taylor (ex-Coinbase Base) as head of design at X in March
Plan not officially announced; unconfirmed which stablecoin or when it could launch

Why It Matters

X's exploration of stablecoins for creator payments signals the growing use of digital dollars for cross-border, low-friction payouts and Musk's broader ambition to turn X into an "everything app" with integrated payments. Paying a global creator base in stablecoins would cut costs and settlement delays versus traditional banking, and would give Circle's USDC a major new use case. It follows TikTok's P2P payment exploration and reflects the convergence of social media and crypto payments.

Summary

Key Facts

Why It Matters

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