Elon Musk says X’s DM feature XChat to have ‘Bitcoin-style encryption’

Social media level X is rolling retired a caller messaging feature, XChats, which proprietor Elon Musk says volition person “Bitcoin-style encryption.”

XChat is seemingly a much feature-rich mentation of the platform’s nonstop messaging function, which volition diagnostic audio and video calling, “encryption, vanishing messages, and the quality to nonstop immoderate benignant of file,” Musk said successful a June 1 X post.

The caller messaging work is built connected the Rust programming language, which Musk said had “(Bitcoin style) encryption, full caller architecture.”

On May 29, X said that it had to intermission its encrypted messaging diagnostic portion it worked connected improvements, which whitethorn person been related to the merchandise of XChat.

Source: Elon Musk

Musk’s remark connected XChat’s encryption spurred a flurry of reactions from Bitcoiners specified arsenic JAN3 CEO Samson Mow, who said that “Bitcoin isn’t encrypted,” portion crypto influencer “Pledditor” added that Bitcoin “uses elliptic curve cryptography.”

Bitcoin (BTC) halfway developer Luke Dashjr besides chimed in, stating “Bitcoin doesn’t adjacent usage encryption” and that utilizing the Rust connection was “a atrocious thought for information reasons.”

“Maybe Musk means similar BIP-151 peer-to-peer connection encryption,” BitMEX Research suggested, mentioning the Bitcoin Improvement Proposal designed to encrypt Bitcoin node data.

Bitcoin’s elliptic curve cryptography works similar a mathematical fastener strategy wherever you person a concealed backstage cardinal and a nationalist cardinal that’s mathematically derived from it connected a calculated curve wherever the mathematics lone works successful 1 absorption but is astir intolerable to reverse.

This lets holders beryllium they ain the BTC and authorize transactions without revealing the backstage key, making the strategy unafraid without needing a cardinal authority. Bitcoin besides uses SHA-256 hashing for transaction validation and creating artifact and transaction IDs. 

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TechCrunch reported that XChat is presently rolling retired to paid subscribers and appears to beryllium protected by a four-digit passcode.

X Money successful testing

On May 25, Musk confirmed that the institution was besides moving connected a payments feature called X Money, which volition motorboat successful beta aboriginal this year.

He said that investigating volition beryllium a “very constricted entree beta astatine first,” adding that “when people’s savings are involved, utmost attraction indispensable beryllium taken.”

Musk purchased X, past called Twitter, successful October 2022 and has agelong promised to crook the level into an “everything app” akin to WeChat — with features and services beyond what is typically disposable connected societal media platforms.

The caller offerings suggest that X is present acceptable to effort to rival encrypted messaging platforms specified arsenic Telegram and Signal, portion besides looking to vie with fashionable fintech apps Venmo and Cash App.

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