3 min read
As Twitter's most formidable competitor comes online, it also received regulatory approval from three U.S. states that serve a much broader vision for the social media company.
New Hampshire, Michigan, and Missouri have approved Twitter's application to serve as a money transmitter, laying the groundwork for the social media app to expand into payments and other financial services.
Money transmitter license requirements and the privileges they grant differ from state to state, but they generally allow a company to send, receive, and transfer funds for and among customers, both nationally and internationally. They also permit currency exchange—swapping foreign currencies for U.S. dollars, for example, and issuing prepaid cards.
Ever since Elon Musk bought Twitter in late October last year, he hasn’t shied away from extolling his vision for the social media platform. He has said he wants to build a “WeChat for the West,” a platform that he has said he wants to copy, forming a “digital town” within which people can do pretty much everything they want—including making payments.
Dubbed “X, The Everything App,” the promised future app may or may not include cryptocurrency. While Musk had previously teased crypto integrations, plans appear to have changed after he assumed the top role, with a rumored wallet feature put on pause.
The money transmitter licenses are well-worn regulatory instruments and don’t necessarily mean that cryptocurrency is coming to Twitter. Digital asset advocates could still hold out hope for crypto integration, however.
The billionaire mogul is an outspoken backer of popular meme crypto Dogecoin, an affection that led to him being struck with an inane $258 billion lawsuit for alleged insider trading involving the token.
And newly named Twitter CEO Linda Yaccarino is no stranger to the digital asset space either. She has been described as a Dogecoin supporter, interacting with several of the most influential DOGE accounts on the platform—including one that congratulated Twitter’s changes under her leadership.
The executive replied, “can’t stop, won’t stop.”
Yaccarino has been otherwise elusive in her interactions with cryptocurrency adopters. Nevertheless, she is an established fan of open-source code and digital transparency, two of crypto’s core tenets.
It’s also important to note that Binance backed the $44 billion Twitter purchase, in an attempt to sway the platform to align with Web3. At the time, Binance CEO CZ shilled the Binance Pay platform as a possible integration for Twitter payment options.
Aside from a couple of blockchain experiments, New Hampshire, Missouri and Michigan have not taken a clear and solid stances on crypto. States with avowed pro-crypto leaders, however, could be next on the list.
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