[DigitalToday intern reporter Kyungmin Hong] X, the social media platform led by Elon Musk and formerly known as Twitter, is developing a Smart Cashtags feature that spans real-time financial information and news, discussions and trading functions.

On Jan. 12, Cointelegraph reported that X product chief Nikita Bier said Smart Cashtags will let users check crypto smart contract information, recent mentions of related assets, and news about related companies and development teams in real time.

The feature is an expanded version of the existing cashtag, designed to let users search and analyse information on tokens and stocks. Bier stressed that X serves as a major source of financial news and that hundreds of billions of dollars are invested based on information on the platform. He added that X plans to gather user feedback in February ahead of the feature’s release.

X first introduced cashtags in December 2022, showing price charts for bitcoin, ether, major stocks and ETFs and offering a “View on Robinhood” link, but later removed the feature. Smart Cashtags goes beyond simple price checks and includes the possibility of in-app trading, with some concept screens showing Buy and Sell buttons. The company has not disclosed how trading would be implemented or when it would launch, leaving it unclear when users might be able to trade in real time.

X has secured money transmitter licenses in 25 U.S. states, but it is not clear when it will activate financial transaction features such as cryptocurrency payments. Amid that uncertainty, Musk said he plans to open-source X’s recommendation algorithm next week, showing an intention to strengthen both transparency and user participation on the platform.

Amid these technical preparations and strategic moves, Smart Cashtags is seen as a key strategy for X to grow beyond a social media platform into one that integrates financial information, news, discussions and trading functions. The feature could support users’ investment and trading decisions by providing real-time financial data, and is expected to expand engagement and activity on X beyond the limits of existing cashtags. The move is also expected to serve as a foothold for X to establish itself as a new form of digital service that breaks down the boundaries between social media and financial platforms.

If Smart Cashtags is formally introduced, an environment is expected to be created where both investors and ordinary users can search for information, join discussions and trade within the platform in one place. That would enable real-time interaction and data-driven decision-making experiences not provided by existing financial news and trading platforms, increasing the likelihood that X will become a new standard spanning both social media and the financial ecosystem.

X is the best source for financial news -- and hundreds of billions of dollars are deployed based on things people read here. We are building Smart Cashtags that allow you to specify the exact asset (or smart contract) when posting a ticker. From Timeline, users will be able to… pic.twitter.com/nFtuA2ISqJ