Elon Musk to rebrand Twitter to X, but Crypto Twitter has other ideas
Twitter users, along with the avid crypto community, may soon see a very different version of the social media app — which is set to ditch its iconic blue bird logo for an “X” as part of a major rebrand.
Crypto Twitter hasn’t been particularly thrilled with some of the changes, however.
In a series of tweets on July 23, Musk hinted that the platform will be rebranded to “X” as early as Monday, an early step in its eventual transformation to an “everything app.”
The rebrand could involve changing Twitter’s color scheme to black, the removal of Twitter’s blue bird logo, and a name change to X, according to Musk’s various tweets and a poll.
And soon we shall bid adieu to the twitter brand and, gradually, all the birds
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 23, 2023
The website used to access the social media platform may also change, with Musk confirming that X.com, the online address for his 1999-founded financial services start-up that sold to PayPal, now redirecting to Twitter.
According to the Wayback Machine, Prior to the change, x.com was a mostly blank website that simply displayed the letter “x.” Prior to that, it had redirected to Musk’s Boring Company website. The website URL also had a long stint in the early 2000s pointing to Paypal and even had a stint displaying an eBay commerce business.
In March, Musk also established the tech firm X Corp. as Twitter’s parent company partly to realize his vision for the WeChat-like app.
Crypto Twitter calls rebrand decision ‘insane’
However, not many Crypto Twitter users have been thrilled with the proposed changes. Twitter has been a stronghold for the crypto community with over 1 billion tweets about crypto between 2020 and 2022 according to a March Hypebeast report.
Trust Machines marketing chief Dan Held said Twitter was “iconic,” adding Musk was “insane” to rebrand to X.
Others have been resistant to the proposed X rebrand. Crypto blogger Tiffany Fong said she’s “still callin it twitter” which podcast host Peter McCormack agreed with.
I stand with you Tiffany
— Peter McCormack☠️ (@PeterMcCormack) July 23, 2023
There were however some supportive of the idea, saying the super-app has been Musk’s vision since leaving PayPal and points to his October tweet that implicitly said his Twitter purchase was the accelerant to creating X.
Others have been pitching their own ideas on how Musk should move ahead with X. Axie Infinity co-founder Jeff “Jiho” Zirlin said to keep the Twitter name but add a crypto wallet called X to allow users to spend and tip platform creators.
/imagine
Keep it named twitter. Add a wallet called X. Let people spend and tip. Keep the new creator earnings within the twitter community as a circular economy.
Add bitcoin and eth transfers to the wallet.
Mass adoption. pic.twitter.com/4lcxlPnW15
— The Jiho.eth (@Jihoz_Axie) July 23, 2023
Related: Twitter to impose daily limits on DMs for unverified accounts
Meanwhile, in a July 23 post, Twitter chief Linda Yaccarino added more clues about X, saying it would have “unlimited interactivity,” support multiple media formats, and feature payments and banking — a feature that Musk has reportedly said he wants to support crypto.
Without specifying how Yaccarino said the upcoming app would also be powered by artificial intelligence, though Musk has previously said AI would be used to detect manipulation of public opinion.
X is the future state of unlimited interactivity – centered in audio, video, messaging, payments/banking – creating a global marketplace for ideas, goods, services, and opportunities. Powered by AI, X will connect us all in ways we’re just beginning to imagine.
— Linda Yaccarino (@lindayacc) July 23, 2023
The rebrand comes as Musk admitted on July 15 that Twitter’s advertising revenue had dropped by 50% and the firm had a heavy debt load, although it’s unknown over what timeframe the revenue drop occurred.
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