- This week, Elon Musk changed the name of Twitter to X. This led to a sharp rise in the price of X-branded crypto tokens.
- After Musk's announcement, the token increased by 1,200% despite the fact that the project was scrapped in May.
- New Brand X tokens also appeared on crypto exchanges after Musk rebranded the company.
Opportunistic crypto traders are trying to capitalize on the flurry of attention surrounding Elon Musk's new Twitter photo.
Cryptocurrencies with X-related names have soared and new tokens have appeared on decentralized exchanges after the billionaire CEO announced over the weekend that his social media platform will be renamed "X."
The new signs include those that look more legitimate, but also those that resemble the "pump and dump" schemes common in the industry. However, traders can't seem to differentiate between the two options and have been seen pouncing on anything marked with an "X" for potential profits.
The CoinDesk-owned token surged 1,200% in the 24 hours following Twitter's rebranding, despite the project's shutdown in May.
Another sign that has seen a rapid rise is a logo called "AI-X," which is similar to the logo of Musk's SpaceX company. Then there was one called "Deus Ex" — a phrase Musk tweeted this week — which grew 2,600%, according to CoinDesk.
Twitter CEO Linda Iacarino confirmed on Sunday that Twitter is moving away from the iconic Bird brand.
"X is the future state of limitless interactivity - focused on audio, video, messaging, payments/banking - creating a global marketplace for ideas, products, services and opportunities," Yacarino tweeted. "Powered by artificial intelligence, X will connect us all in ways we can't even imagine."
Meanwhile, CEO Mark Zuckerberg earlier this month launched his own Twitter competitor called Threads, which benefits from being able to attract new users through Instagram. While there is a lot of buzz surrounding Thread's launch, its sustainability will depend on its ability to attract advertisers on the same scale as Twitter, according to Ali Moghrabi, senior analyst at Morningstar.
"In terms of first impressions, the timing of the thread is impressive as it aligns with Musk's recent restrictions on Twitter," he told Insider in a recent interview. "But it remains to be seen whether all the frustrated Twitter users will jump to the wire and stay there."