X allows crypto ads again as X Money beta rollout approaches

Under its updated labeling policy, X now permits paid crypto promotions. On Sunday, X cleared both cryptocurrency and gambling for paid partnerships, creating potential revenue for content creators.

The move comes as X prepares to roll out new features in the coming months, including X Money. Industry influencers can now engage in paid partnerships to promote crypto products and services, provided they follow X’s labeling rules and clearly disclose sponsorships. Influencers are also responsible for ensuring that paid crypto content is blocked or not visible in regions where such promotions are restricted due to local regulations.

The update essentially overturns a ban that dates back to at least June 2024. Still, in major markets, the restrictive measure is still in effect in the UK, Australia, and the EU.

Analyst DeFi Ignas reported that digital assets are no longer listed under Prohibited Industries for paid promo on X. However, despite the recent exclusion, pharmaceuticals, tobacco, weapons, and diet-related products were added to the ban list. Not to mention promotions for sex products and services, alcohol, dating platforms, and recreational and prescription drugs remain restricted.

Updated ad policies will ensure influencers remain transparent 

The platform’s head of product, Nikita Bier, insists the updated ad policies are designed to help creators stay compliant and transparent with their audiences.

He noted, “X’s core value is providing an authentic pulse on humanity. While we want to encourage people to build their businesses on X, undisclosed promotions hurt the integrity of the product and lead people to distrust the content they read on X.”

That means paid collaboration posts must show the “Paid Partnership” label. Additionally, influencers must ensure their content complies with applicable laws, including FTC rules. They must also clearly show the product, service, or CTA in the content, without requiring the user to follow extra links. 

Still, the updated policy sets a clear boundary between Paid Partnerships and routine ads, permitting some content to run through X Ads even if it wouldn’t be allowed in a partnership. However, users who violate X’s paid partnership policy may have their posts removed or their accounts suspended.

X Money will enter its  external beta phase

Meanwhile, X Money is heading towards an external beta after completing its internal private beta. Founder Elon Musk revealed, “For X Money, we’ve actually had X Money live in closed beta within the company. We expect in the next month or two to go to a limited external beta, and then to go worldwide to all X users.”

He added that the goal is to make X indispensable for communications, news, or X Money, noting, “you could live your life on the X app.” What X Money is, he added, is a solution for all financial transactions — and, if it works together with XChat and more powerful communication tools, could change the way users engage with the platform, leading to growth to more than one billion daily users.

Overall, X Money supports Musk’s ambition to transform X into an all-in-one app for messaging, payments, and day-to-day activities. Although the company has yet to reveal concrete plans to integrate crypto assets into X Money. Earlier, former CEO Yaccarino had stated that X would add investment and trading capabilities, suggesting that digital assets could become part of its financial offerings.

Since Elon Musk bought Twitter for $44 billion and rebranded it as X, the platform has grown tremendously from a microblogging site into one that offers AI, extended video, and financial capabilities. 

xAI even recently posted, stating their achievements, “Since xAI was formed just 30 months ago, the small and talented team has made remarkable progress. The future has never looked more exciting!” The post, however, came just a few days after the AI platform lost half of its co-founders. Nonetheless, Musk has assured the online community that their departures were not based on performance. He claimed the company is being set up to handle growth more effectively, and that some people are better suited to a startup’s early days than to its mature phase.

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