Social platform X, owned by Elon Musk, is in talks about using stablecoins, in particular USDC from Circle, to pay royalties to content creators and influencers. This is reported by CoinDesk, citing a source familiar with the company’s plans. The negotiations are ongoing, and the source is also cooperating with other social networks that are testing stablecoins as a way to pay commissions to authors.

This decision is being considered against the backdrop of changes to the platform’s monetization model. X is winding down the old Revenue Sharing revenue distribution program and launching Original Content Rewards – a new system focused on supporting unique ideas and original analytics. Step X is not the first time Musk’s ecosystem has experimented with stablecoins: SpaceX is already using them to pay for Starlink services in regions where bank transfers are too slow or unreliable.

Part of the cryptocurrency community views this step as potentially significant for the mass adoption of cryptocurrencies. Commentators note that the most important moments for adoption don’t come when everyone suddenly starts buying cryptocurrency, but when people start using it without even thinking about it. Another group is more restrained and points out that stablecoins have long ceased to be just collateral for trading and are turning into a global infrastructure for salary payments. As soon as an author in Lagos or Buenos Aires can receive USDC and easily convert it into local currency, the SWIFT system will become merely optional for them. It should be noted that the U.S. Department of the Treasury previously published a draft rule on regulating stablecoins under the GENIUS Act.