Social networking giant X (formerly Twitter) recently secured money transmitter licenses from seven states in the US. The licenses would allow the social media platform to store, transfer, and trade fiat as well as cryptocurrencies. The licenses also paved the way for crypto-enabled payments in the future.
According to the official website of the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System (NMLS), the states of Maryland and Georgia became the latest to grant a money transmitter license to X earlier this month. The social media giant previously secured similar licenses from New Hampshire, Missouri, Michigan, Rhode Island, and Arizona.
The latest license additions took X’s total to seven US states, bringing it one step closer to enabling nationwide payments. The San Francisco-based firm is reportedly seeking similar licenses from other states as well. The first money transmitter license to X was granted by New Hampshire in June 2023. X’s bid to enable payments on its platform began just months after billionaire businessman Elon Musk acquired the platform in October last year.
Musk previously indicated that crypto payments would also be featured on his social media platform. The money transmitter license covers cryptocurrency wallets as well. The license is also required for businesses that control digital asset transactions between customers, aka centralized crypto exchanges.
The FAQ page of Rhode Island Currency Transmission Law stated:
Cryptocurrency wallets (and the like) squarely fall within the definition of “maintaining control of virtual currency” “on behalf of others” when the business has custody of funds in the wallets.
The new money transmitter licenses for X reignited the discussion surrounding crypto payments on the platform and a native crypto token. DOGE, a meme token that’s often associated with Musk and X, gained more than 11% following the latest developments. At the time of writing, the meme token was trading at $0.065.
