Elon Musk's X is preparing payouts to authors in stablecoins: a new era of content monetization?

The social platform X, owned by Elon Musk, is actively working on a scenario for transitioning to payments to content creators in stablecoins, including USDC. According to my data, substantive negotiations about implementing such a mechanism are underway inside the company, but no official confirmation from management has been received yet. This is not just a rumor—insiders familiar with the team's plans indicate a high likelihood of the initiative being realized in the near term.

A paradigm shift: from Revenue Sharing to new formats

It is telling that the platform is simultaneously winding down its current Revenue Sharing program, replacing it with a new Original Content Rewards system. Under the current conditions of the new program, there is only a mention of payments through a third-party payment intermediary, and stablecoins do not yet appear in official documents. However, this may be only a temporary measure—technical integration of cryptocurrency settlements requires time and legal groundwork.

Strategically, the use of stablecoins looks like a logical step for X. It allows bypassing traditional banking restrictions, speeding up transactions, and reducing fees for authors worldwide, especially in regions with unstable fiat currencies. USDC, as one of the most regulated stablecoins, gives the platform an additional level of trust from regulators.

Nevertheless, open questions remain: how will the taxation issue be resolved, what will the exchange rate stability be during conversion, and will X face resistance from Apple and Google regarding their commissions on in-app purchases. These nuances could significantly affect the final architecture of payments.

My view: X's initiative is a signal that major Web2 platforms are beginning to seriously consider cryptocurrencies not as a speculative asset, but as an infrastructural tool. If Musk manages to implement what he has planned, it will create a powerful precedent for the entire social media industry, accelerating the mass adoption of digital currencies in everyday financial flows.