Visa and Elon Musk’s X Money Collaboration

When Visa joined forces with Elon Musk’s X Money at the end of last month, there were assumptions about soon allowing crypto transfers on the platform previously known as Twitter.

From his position in both crypto and digital payments, Fireblocks SVP of Payments and Network, Ran Goldi, informed The Block that X Money is anticipated to be crypto-ready by the end of 2025.

> “If I read the zeitgeist correctly, all the large payment companies that are now coming to us and saying, ‘Hey, we now need a digital asset strategy,'” said Goldi. “They fully expect that by the end of this year, X will probably have the ability to pay out in cryptocurrencies.”

In X Money’s January announcement, CEO Linda Yaccarino described the partnership as part of Musk’s vision of creating a super, or “everything,” app. Visa will enable users to fund their digital wallets, transfer funds to bank accounts, and conduct peer-to-peer payments.

Although Musk and X Money did not mention plans for crypto payments during the Visa partnership announcement, given Musk’s closer relationship with pro-crypto figures like Donald Trump, his entry into crypto wouldn’t be surprising.

Musk has a notable history with crypto; he has a longstanding association with Dogecoin, created as a joke in 2013, which has since become the eighth-largest cryptocurrency by market cap. Additionally, Tesla owns over $1 billion in bitcoin.

Digital Payments Equal Utility

According to Goldi, discussions with digital payments companies show they are focused on strategies for facilitating payments to “gig economy employees” and “marketplaces.”

Fireblocks, which raised $550 million in a Series E round at an $8 billion valuation in 2022, is well-placed to understand the crypto payments landscape, supporting both traditional financial institutions and organizations native to digital assets like MoonPay and Revolut.

> “About three years ago we pointed our compass on payments because we really believe that is where the utility will come from,” said Goldi.

Fireblocks currently powers about 15% of global blockchain transactions, enabling merchants, entrepreneurs and creators to accept, manage, and settle digital payments internationally.