Elon Musk’s X now accepts Bitcoin tipping

Bitcoin tipping has arrived on X, Elon Musk’s social media platform — but not through a native integration.

On Aug. 18, BitBit, a third-party self-custodial wallet, launched functionality that allows users to send and receive BTC tips directly on the platform, powered by Lightning infrastructure from Lightspark.

“At Lightspark, we’re working tirelessly to ensure the future of money looks like the open Internet,” said David Marcus, co-founder and CEO of Lightspark. 

While the feature is available within X’s interface, it’s not an official X product. BitBit’s Chrome-compatible wallet sits on top of the platform and enables users to send tips to others on X handles. Receivers have 21 days to claim tips before the funds are automatically refunded.

The announcement comes as X continues its slow pivot into financial services. Under Musk’s direction, X has teased ambitions to become a full-fledged “everything app” — an American counterpart to China’s WeChat — complete with peer-to-peer payments, financial services, and digital commerce.

While the Bitcoin community welcomed the development, some in the Dogecoin camp were disappointed. Musk has long been associated with DOGE, frequently tweeting memes and comments about the joke cryptocurrency. Many assumed Dogecoin would play a central role in any payments experiment launched through X. So far, it hasn’t.

Bitcoin was trading above $115,000 at the time of the announcement, according to Kraken price feeds.