Elon Musk’s social platform X now supports Bitcoin tipping through a third-party integration with BitBit, a self-custodial wallet that uses the Lightning Network. The new feature on August 18 and is accessible via Chrome-compatible browsers.
Elon Musk’s social platform X now supports Bitcoin tipping through a third-party integration with BitBit, a self-custodial wallet that uses the Lightning Network. The new feature on August 18 and is accessible via Chrome-compatible browsers.
BitBit enables users to send and receive Bitcoin tips on X without giving up custody of their funds. The wallet is not an official X product but operates as an overlay within the platform’s interface. Tip recipients have 21 days to claim their funds before they are automatically refunded to the sender.
BitBit is powered by Lightspark’s Spark infrastructure, which facilitates Lightning Network transactions. David Marcus, CEO of Lightspark, the goal is to align digital money with the open standards of the internet.
Despite Musk’s public support of Dogecoin, the new tipping function does not include the meme cryptocurrency. Some users had anticipated that Dogecoin would be the first crypto integrated into X payments. Notably, at the time of the announcement, Bitcoin traded above $115,000, recovering from a recent dip.
The Bitcoin tipping tool comes as X continues to roll out features aligned with its long-term payments roadmap. A payments product known as X Money is currently in testing and is expected to launch in beta later in 2025.
Elon Musk has stated plans to develop X into a multifunctional platform similar to WeChat. The company is building features that go beyond social networking but include messaging, payments, and media sharing.
In parallel with the tipping feature, X is introducing XChat, a revamped messaging tool with voice and video calling, encrypted messages, disappearing chats, and file sharing.
Musk described its encryption as “Bitcoin-style,” which corrections from developers who noted that Bitcoin does not use encryption in the traditional sense but relies on elliptic curve cryptography and hashing.
XChat is currently being released to paid subscribers and uses a four-digit passcode for protection. It is built in the Rust programming language.
