X: a name that recalls the signatures of illiterates in the past, a reminder to a mathematical unknown, a sign that has in itself the denial. But also the rediscovery. In fact put an X on something means to definitively close a chapter, to give up on it, to stop thinking about it. But it is precisely thanks to denials and unknowns that, at times, they can flourish opportunity for affirmations e new certainties (temporary).
Musk's social network – already when it was Twitter – has dealt with using social media in a revolutionary way compared to the (manifest) intentions of the other platforms and to the very concept of social media. Twitter has positioned itself as a political communication channel, giving the (relative) opportunity to anyone to interact directly with public figures, CEOs of multinationals and heads of state. No other social media of widespread use offers and has offered the same opportunities in the same way. So Twitter has made its way and created a unique, indistinguishable name: on which now she put an X on herself.
What has changed? What are the goals, visions, perspectives and connotations that social X takes on? How is it evolving in 2025?
The best way to clarify these questions, in our opinion, is to reflect on the innovations introduced in these first two months of the year.
Content index
X Money is coming: an attempt at financial revolution?
It was already announced a year ago.
And in early 2025 it arrived X Money. We are talking about a digital payment system developed in collaboration with Visa. A service that allows users to make money transfers directly through the social platform, without the need for external applications.
The intent therefore seems to be to transform X into a complete app, which goes beyond the apparent limits of social networks and which rides their transformation into advertising channels and markets. Currently X Money allows you to send and receive peer-to-peer payments, Besides support transactions for content creators and businessesThe system is initially available in the United States, with plans for global expansion in the coming years.
And what are the other plans? Are there any?
Is X Money Taking a Nod to Trump Administration’s Plans to Integrate Cryptocurrencies into US Finance?
La speculation The most popular initial one foresees the Musk's willingness to support Trump administration in cryptocurrency integration in the US financial system, effectively making the country a key crypto hub. In fact, on January 23, 2025, the President signed Executive Order 14178: a revocation of previous directives and the prohibition of the establishment of digital currencies issued by the central bank. Thus, it established the President's Working Group on Digital Asset Markets. A working group chaired by the Special Counsel for AI and Cryptocurrencies, which includes senior officials from various federal departments and agencies, such as the Secretary of the Treasury, the Attorney General, and the Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). SEC within which a new one was simultaneously created task force with the aim of drawing clear regulatory lines, providing realistic registration pathways, developing sensible disclosure frameworks and employing enforcement resources judiciously. A task force headed – of course – by Hester Peirce: the lawyer born in '70 who since 2018 has been nicknamed “Crypto Mom”… and in the meantime the administration is evaluating the possibility of build a strategic reserve in Bitcoin.
Sure – Musk is an avowed ally of Trump and is notoriously interested in cryptocurrencies – but Cryptocurrencies are not supported on X Money at this time.. So before we get too far into certain speculations, we need to be objective.
Algorithm changes to reduce “negativity”
In January 2025, Elon Musk announced an update to X's algorithm with the purpose of reduce the spread of “negative content” on the platform. According to Musk, the intent is maximizing “non-regret time” of users. So the goal on paper is to avoid inconvenience and dissatisfaction for those who live on the platform, through reductions in the visibility of posts considered excessively negative or harmful to public debate. And here we must be extremely careful.
What does “negative” objectively mean? If we are talking about direct incitement to hatred and so on, we can all – for better or for worse – agree… but the dynamics are much more multifaceted than that. What if a fruitful discussion with heated tones were considered “negative”? One political wing compared to another, perhaps just for a question of manner or key words used?
And if it were considered "negative" a narration alternative to the dominant one?
The Risk of Censorship Behind the Wave of Political Correctness (often superficial) that is investing our era can and must make us doubt. Or at least reflect. Conflict is not always negative, on the contrary… sometimes it is the key to evolve, to clarify, to vent, to find solutions and peace. And let's remember that every person who shares an idea with the world (especially if in a strong and decisive manner), one implicitly takes the risk, responsibility, but also the opportunity to receive interactions of all kinds.
So where does X want to go with this measure? Is it a direction we can feel comfortable with?
We just have to wait and see how this specific situation unfolds… which brings us directly to another key point.
Change the Community Notes system
Community Notes is a collaborative fact-checking program, initially launched as birdwatch. Do you remember when Meta has trashed fact-checking third party in the US? What did they replace it with? This very system, but Meta came to us after X. Essentially, users can add contextual notes to posts to “fight misinformation.” By 2023, the program had already expanded to over 50 countries, involving more than 133.000 active contributors.
In 2025, however, the platform faced new challenges related to the credibility and use of the system.
This month Elon Musk said Community Notes had become increasingly manipulated by governments and mainstream media, raising questions about the impartiality of the program. This statement came after Some user notes contradicted statements made by Musk himself on topics such as astronautics and international politics (clicking here find the Washington Examiner article where all this is reported).
X in light of this has announced possible changes to the functioning of the notes, with the aim of improving the reliability of the system and preventing any distortions… could this affect the transparency and effectiveness of the program?
The launch of Grok-3
We close out the X news with the launch of Grok-3. We are talking about a chatbot advanced, an artificial intelligence developed by XAI to offer more accurate and contextualized answers, leveraging an enhanced language model and real-time access to X. One of the key features of Grok-3 is the ability to analyze and summarize trends in real time. This is to provide users with a overview of current topics along with a function that collects the most relevant posts on a specific topic and summarizes them for more immediate reading.
Grok-3 is available exclusively for Premium and Premium+ subscribers of the platform, with a new subscription level called SuperGrok, which offers advanced features for $30 a month. Coming soon, a interactive voice mode.
Here too Musk – as usual – gets criticized. Along the lines of what happened with DeepSeek, some users have reported incidents of censorship on sensitive political topics, while others have highlighted bias in the results. However, it must be said that Grok-2 will soon be made open-source, unlike other major Western models.
What do these directions of X mean?
For today we leave you with this question.
We have certainly provided – both above and below the lines – a fairly precise point of view. X is worrying and one can rightly remain vigilant. But this should not make us lose – as much as possible – the ability to be objective. We have done nothing more than collect news and reflect on their sequence. This is how we have tried to build an idea.
And for you, what do these directions taken by X since the beginning of 2025 mean?
