Twitter May Get Its Own Stock Trading Hub In Mission To Become A Super-App
When Elon Musk changed the name of Twitter to X, it wasn't necessarily just an idiosyncratic branding move, but instead part of a larger plan to transform the text-based social media network into an "everything app" or super-app. The company may soon inch closer to that goal by incorporating its own stock trading hub into the app, proving that the change to "X" wasn't just cosmetic.
According to Semafor, Twitter has recently been reaching out to financial-data companies and requesting proposals for ways the app can provide users with real-time stock data and other financial content. Interestingly — and probably not surprisingly — Twitter is framing this as an opportunity as opposed to a collaboration; it's reportedly not offering compensation for these tools, but instead asking "interested bidders to say how much money they'll commit to the project themselves." The request for such proposals was due last week, and it's currently unclear which, if any, financial companies have put forth a plan.
Musk sees Twitter as a natural foundation for a financial app (and, eventually a super-app). "Twitter's real-time, public platform has become the heartbeat of the financial community," reads the company's alleged request for financial strategies. That claim, like many made by Musk, seems to be both hyperbolic and inaccurate. However, it could potentially be true in the future.
Twitter's real-time nature could be beneficial
Despite being a text-based social network filled with memes and novelty accounts, Twitter could feasibly work as a financial tool, thanks to the real-time aspect of its news feed. It was once considered the best source of information during live events, whether as benign as the Oscars or as serious as the January 6 insurrection. However, since Musk bought the company and implemented several unpopular changes, the app has lost many users, including trusted journalists, as well as an algorithm that prioritized accurate information. Instead, paid subscribers and advertisers seem to be pushed to the top of the timeline, making it less useful as a real-time news source.
But if the app fine-tunes and strengthens its algorithms to provide accurate, real-time financial data, as well as tools for users to trade stocks in just a few clicks, its news feed structure could prove to be well-suited for finance. Twitter has already been dipping a toe in with "cashtags," or specialized hashtags that will provide a real-time stock chart, provided by data startup TradingView, when clicked. The company also planned to launch stock trading tools from Robinhood competitor eToro last April, but that has yet to happen. Presumably, the company is hoping proposals from financial-data companies will both incorporate and build upon these ideas.
By becoming both a social network and a major financial app, X could truly begin its transformation into a "super-app" that provides users most — if not all — of the digital services they need, under one roof. Of course, it has some way to go before then, and its success will depend on the ideas put forth by the financial companies Twitter is seeking proposals from — if any serious proposals are even made.