X Explores Using Stablecoins to Pay Creator Royalties
Nashnova编辑部
Elon Musk's social platform X is exploring paying creator royalties in stablecoins such as USDC, potentially giving its revamped monetization system a cross-border settlement layer — though negotiations are ongoing and scale remains unproven.
What exactly does X want to do with stablecoins?
According to CoinDesk, citing people familiar with the matter, X is studying how to use stablecoins — crypto tokens pegged to the US dollar, 1 token ≈ $1, far less volatile than Bitcoin — to pay creators and content providers royalties.
The leading candidate is USDC, issued by Circle. This means → creators would receive on-chain "digital dollars" that settle instantly, not platform credits or slow bank wires.
Talks are still underway; X declined to comment. In plain terms = the direction is clear, but a live product is not imminent.
Why stablecoins specifically?
Stablecoins now have a combined market cap exceeding $300 billion and have become the dominant tool for blockchain-based payments, especially cross-border ones that are faster and cheaper than traditional bank transfers.
This means → for a global platform, paying a creator in Brazil, Nigeria, or India via stablecoin beats a SWIFT wire on both speed and cost.
Musk's SpaceX already collects cross-border Starlink payments in stablecoins across multiple emerging markets. This reflects a proven stablecoin playbook inside the Musk ecosystem — X is not starting from scratch.
What does the hiring signal?
In March, Musk hired crypto-industry veteran Benji Taylor as head of design at X, with responsibilities extending to xAI and SpaceX.
Taylor previously led the design of Coinbase's Base blockchain network and has deep experience in wallets and decentralized finance.
This means → this is not a routine design hire. It places someone who understands crypto infrastructure at the core of product development, laying groundwork for payments.
How is X reshaping its creator monetization system?
X recently announced it will phase out the long-running "revenue-sharing program" and replace it with a new "Original Content Rewards Program."
The stated goal is to "reward creators who bring original ideas, expertise, reporting, creativity, and commentary to X." In plain terms = a shift from paying by traffic volume to paying by content quality.
If stablecoin payments go live, they would provide the cross-border settlement infrastructure underpinning this new system. Whether it can scale, however, still depends on how negotiations conclude.
Content is for reference only, not financial advice.