Original | Odaily Planet Daily (@OdailyChina)
Author | Wenser (@wenser 2010)
A major earthquake affecting 600 million crypto users and a $3 trillion crypto market is here!
Just yesterday, X (Twitter) platform product lead and Solana advisor Nikita Bier posted that X is the best source for financial news and is currently developing Smart Asset Tags (Smart Cashtags). This feature will allow users to specify specific assets or smart contracts when posting market-related content on X; users can click on these tags in their timeline to view real-time prices of the related assets and all information mentioning that asset. The feature is planned to be iterated and feedback collected before its public release next month.
The news caused a market stir. Some believe this move means the X platform is implementing the grand vision of a "super app" previously outlined by Musk; others think that, thanks to its massive user base and crypto community, X will become a direct competitor to many CEXs;还有人结合配图认为 X 将引导海量流动性与注意力到 Solana 等链上生态。(Others,结合配图, believe X will channel massive liquidity and attention to on-chain ecosystems like Solana.)
When a Web2 giant platform sets its sights on the crypto market, is it a new "paradigm shift in internet finance" or just another "future promise" like the long-pending payment gateway? Odaily Planet Daily will explore this matter from product analysis and ecosystem layout perspectives in this article.
When X Transforms into a "Smart Asset Window": Web2 Product's Dimensional Strike on the Crypto Sphere
Based on available information, let's first discuss the specific details of this X platform feature update.
According to Nikita Bier's post and accompanying image, the so-called Smart Asset Tags (Smart Cashtags) primarily aim to "provide real-time financial data based on the user's timeline," with information about mentioned assets being aggregated and displayed; when posting a tweet, users can specify specific assets (such as stocks, BTC, Meme coins, etc.) by their ticker symbol (Ticker); clicking on the corresponding ticker allows direct access to its real-time price, and may potentially offer trading support (Buy & Sell interface).
Furthermore, what sparks imagination in the accompanying image is not just the feature display, but also the mentioned corresponding targets – besides major assets like BRKB (Berkshire Hathaway stock) and BTC, Solana ecosystem Meme coin BONK and the Base ecosystem's yet-to-launch ecosystem token BASE are also listed, leading to external guesses that this might be evidence that the X platform's "Smart Asset Tags" feature will initially only support the Solana and Base ecosystems.
In the comments section, Nikita Bier also responded to (or hinted at) several hot questions from netizens:
- When asked "Does this mean we will be able to trade on X in the future using self-custody wallets or even CEX widgets?", they responded "👀" (hinting watch this space);
- When asked "Which backend will this feature connect to to find assets?", they responded "The API we use is almost for assets minted on-chain in real-time".
Market Reactions Show Diverse Opinions: Some Applaud, Some Scoff
It is worth mentioning that the news quickly received enthusiastic responses from Solana official, BNB Chain team members, Solana ecosystem projects, Base ecosystem projects, and the CT (Crypto Twitter) circle, although the反响并不总是一边倒的喝彩 (reaction wasn't always one-sided cheers), some are not optimistic about the launch of this feature.
Solana official directly posted to "hitch a ride" – "Look, BONK is in the picture!", meaning "the X platform will allow users to post Solana tokens and view charts and news". Subsequently, after Nikita Bier posted in response to someone else "My investments are in my bio," Solana official posted again saying "Same here,"可以说趁机好好涨了一波圈外热度。(可以说 they took the opportunity to gain a lot of heat outside their circle).
With Solana leading the way, BSC naturally didn't hold back. First, early this morning Beijing time, when community users discussed whether the X platform feature update would integrate BNB Chain, Binance founder CZ responded: "Minor shareholder, we'll see then. 😆" And when someone suggested that X platform's move might mean a war for public chain liquidity, CZ commented again: "No need for exclusivity, right? Can support multiple chains. Coexist." He also later posted the corresponding tweet where Musk expressed thanks for CZ's support during the Twitter acquisition. This morning, BNB Chain Growth Executive Director Nina Rong posted that she had sent a direct message to X platform product lead and Solana ecosystem advisor Nikita Bier, offering BSC's support for the Smart Asset Tags project.
Solana ecosystem infrastructure project Helius CEO mert also appeared in the comments shouting: "Any Solana-centric infrastructure? Contact me!"
Base ecosystem project Limitless and Base ecosystem information account Base Posting also "showed their faces" in the comments, expressing curiosity about the BASE token on one hand, and anticipation for X platform's new feature on the other. Bitget's official account also posted expressing curiosity. Binance.US said "Sounds useful". Unchained crypto journalist Laura Shin posted, "(Is this X) a step towards an all-in-one app?"
Opinions within the crypto circle were more diverse: Sentient APAC head Anita believes "X platform will become a killer for CEXs like Binance"; crypto KOL 加密韦陀 commented: "A complete copy of Binance", and later posted that based on past poor experiences with X platform's group chat功能 (features), they are not optimistic about X platform making wallets or trading apps. Others stated that X has almost ruined cryptocurrency, even worse than LinkedIn;还有人 said, as soon as you mention cryptocurrency in a tweet, the post will be nuked by spam.
CryptoQuant founder Ki Young Ju expressed a similar view – he stated that the X platform is suppressing the reach of cryptocurrency-related posts while failing to curb the surge in automated spam, punishing legitimate users. Data shows a surge in automated activity related to the "crypto" keyword, generating over 7.7 million posts in a single day. Ki Young Ju pointed out that the X platform cannot distinguish between automated accounts and real human accounts, and the paid verification system has become a mass-posting tool for bots.
In the摇摆不定 (wavering) between promoting cryptocurrency asset普及化 (popularization) and restricting cryptocurrency content dissemination, the X platform is also seeking its own way to balance both.
Web2 Product vs. Crypto App: Dimensional Strike Under Network Effects
It must be said that the news brought by Nikita Bier, who joined X in mid-2025 to负责产品 (be responsible for product), may not meet everyone's expectations, but this change确实从产品层面上构成了对加密货币应用的“降维打击” (indeed constitutes a "dimensional strike" against cryptocurrency applications from a product level), specifically体现在以下 3 方面 (manifested in the following 3 aspects):
First, the network effect of Web2 giant products based on massive users. Currently, the X platform has about 400-600 million monthly active users, which is already equivalent to the total size of the cryptocurrency market (2025 data is about 600 million people). If in the traditional internet field, user numbers represent traffic data like reads, likes, comments, etc., X's Smart Asset Tags feature, like crypto apps, becomes an entry channel and corresponding window for the funds, capital, and liquidity that users possess, and this is precisely the weakness of crypto applications.
Second, an important step for the X platform in practicing the "super app" vision. In the past, overseas markets believed more in "segmentation is king," with one app focusing on one细分垂类市场 (niche vertical market), which is also an important reason why paid SaaS and niche markets can develop on a large scale overseas; the success of domestic internet giants like WeChat, Alipay, Douyin (Tiktok) in application products has provided new ideas for the development of Western internet platforms – an "ALL IN ONE"一站式平台 (one-stop platform) that can cover users' needs from life to work, from payment to shopping, from entertainment to socializing, etc. Musk has said more than once that he "wants to transform the X platform into a super app like WeChat," and based on previous actions like X platform planning to open payments, integrate with Visa, and provide creator incentives, starting with assets like crypto and stocks might be a masterstroke. After all, who wouldn't want to buy or sell assets they are bullish or bearish on while browsing news on X?
Third, this move may become the starting point for "new finance" in the Western internet field. As is well known, due to the高度完善 (highly developed) banking system and credit card system overseas, overseas internet users are often accustomed to credit card payments for超前消费 (advance consumption); firstly, they have not experienced the impact of热潮冲击 (waves) like P2P, internet finance, micro-loans; secondly, they prefer shopping at offline physical stores rather than online e-commerce; thirdly, they have no direct motivation to use cryptocurrency payments, let alone things like stablecoin payments, PayFi yields which are unheard of by many. The launch of the X platform's Smart Asset Tags feature might bridge these numerous information gaps in one step, quickly meeting the diverse needs of X platform users for online financial loan needs, online e-commerce shopping needs, cryptocurrency payment needs, stablecoin storage yield needs, etc.
Don't rush to deny X's future development possibilities. Looking at the current state of WeChat's product, the X platform is not without转型可能 (transformation potential).
Product Analysis Comparison Between X Platform and WeChat: Public Social Media VS Half-Social Platform
Currently, WeChat's product components mainly include the following 3 major parts:
First, the熟人社交与半熟人社交板块 (close friend social and semi-close friend social section). This part mainly includes functions like adding friends, creating WeChat groups, Moments (朋友圈), etc.;
Second, the original content publishing and distribution platform section. This part mainly includes the Official Account platform (公众号平台), Video Channels (视频号平台), and other functional sections;
Third, the internet financial application and life services section. This part mainly includes WeChat Stores (微信小店), WeChat Red Packets (微信红包), WeChat Wallet (零钱通), and life services and other functional sections.
Correspondingly, as a public social media platform, X's current main product functions are concentrated in 2 major parts:
First, the user account, follow list, and corresponding timeline section. This is the main component of public social media. Users are both content producers and content consumers. Meanwhile,包括特朗普、美国政府部门以及资本机构等 (including Trump, US government departments, and capital institutions) all use the X platform as one of the mainstream channels for对外发声、公关传播 (external communication, PR dissemination).
Second, the "Community功能" (Community features), "群聊功能" (group chat features), and other sections that users complain about year-round. This part consists of the social attribute functions of social media, but the current technical setup and product experience of the X platform are hardly satisfactory.
Therefore, the launch of "Smart Asset Tags" might, like "WeChat Red Packets (Wallet) building the closed loop of the WeChat ecosystem's economic system," become an important step in building the "X platform ecosystem economic system": on one hand, this feature is closely integrated with content publishing, content dissemination, and content discussion; on the other hand, this feature will become an infrastructure project for the X platform to complete links like capital inflow, investment consumption, and e-commerce引流 (diversion), meeting users' diverse usage needs.
Of course, the actual functional implementation effect and user experience remain to be verified by time.
Additionally, it is worth mentioning that the proposal of this feature comes right after Musk's previous announcement of "即将开源新的 X 平台算法" (impending open-sourcing of the new X platform algorithm). Its impact on the subsequent传播度 (reach) of cryptocurrency-related content, the quality of spam control, and other aspects is far broader than most people imagine, and the duration of impact might also be more lasting.
However, some are pessimistic about this. After all, the concept of an asset display window is not new. Whether it was the Blinks function previously launched by Solana, the token ticker price display built into the OKX wallet, or the trading入口 (entry points) provided by numerous browser extensions, none have achieved high-frequency use or widespread adoption in the crypto market. Whether the X platform, as a news and information distribution center, can change this现状 (status quo) from the platform functionality end remains unknown.
Let's not forget, the big饼 (promise) painted by former X platform CEO Linda Yaccarino in early January 2025 – "X platform payment功能 (feature) X Money will be launched within the year" – we haven't even gotten to eat yet!
And it's been over 2 years since Musk first revealed in 2023 that "payment features will be launched by mid-2024"!
It must be said, in terms of application product iteration and updates, Western internet platforms lag far behind domestic internet companies!
