X Weighs Paying Influencers and Creators in Stablecoins

Social media platform X is reportedly exploring the use of stablecoins to pay influencers.

That’s according to a report Thursday (Aug. 20) by CoinDesk, citing a source who also works with other social media companies testing the use of stablecoins to pay commissions to influencers who post content on their platforms.

PYMNTS has contacted X for comment but has not yet gotten a reply.

CoinDesk notes stablecoins have become a blockchain payments staple, allowing for quicker and lower-cost cross-border payments for businesses of all sizes.

The report also points out that this isn’t the first time an Elon Musk-owned company has delved into stablecoin payments. The trillionaire’s SpaceX uses the coins to collect cross-border payments from customers of Starlink — another Musk holding — which offers satellite internet services in emerging markets.

Musk in March hired Coinbase vet Benji Taylor as X’s head of design, linking his position to both xAI and Space X. Taylor had overseen Coinbase’s blockchain network and has a background in wallets and decentralized finance, the CoinDesk report added.

X has been changing the way it compensates creators. The company said earlier this month it is shelving its revenue sharing system and replacing it with something dubbed the “Original Content Rewards Program.” That system is designed to “reward creators who bring original ideas, expertise, reporting, creativity, and commentary to X,” the company said.

Meanwhile, recent research from PYMNTS Intelligence shows that while consumers are displaying some interest in using stablecoins and other cryptocurrencies for purchases, their choices remain limited by acceptance, trust and uneven payment experiences.

The same research — from the report “From Asset to Everyday Money: Making Digital Currencies Spendable” — suggested a way forward.

“Linked cards, instant conversion and modern issuer-processing systems can connect digital assets to the payment tools consumers and merchants already use,” PYMNTS wrote earlier this week. “Familiar apps could provide the front door. According to the report, 77% of consumers said they would open a crypto or stablecoin wallet through an existing banking or FinTech app.”

The research also found that monthly crypto card spending grew about 15-fold between early 2023 and late last year, coming to an annualized rate of around $18 billion. However, demand still surpasses use in several categories. For example, 42% of stablecoin holders want to make major purchases using digital assets, but just 28% currently do so.

“Cross-border business payments offer another near-term use case because stablecoins can lower costs, speed settlement and provide access to dollar-linked value,” the report added.