⌐◪-◪ → Elon is scheming something over at X, and it has to do with payments. This shouldn't come as a surprise, given his vision to make X the "everything app."

Unpacking things a bit further, X's CEO — Linda Yaccarino — detailed the company's 2024 areas of focus in a post on X last week, which include: Freedom of Speech, a new video ecosystem, and the power of AI.

The company also partnered with Shopify and Integral Ads, hinting at their ambitions to create an entirely new shopping experience on X.

NFT influencer Alex Finn (formerly known as NFT God) has a few guesses on how X's new money transmitter license might be used, such as: bringing crypto to X, sending DOGE to Spaces hosts, charging money for posts, tipping video livestreamers, and turning X into a real business platform.

But the real question is — will Elon bring crypto to X this year or not?

Let us know what you think by joining Specs Chat below!

⌐◪-◪ → Chainlink's Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP) now supports cross-chain USDC transfers thanks to a new integration with Circle's Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol (CCTP).

Both technologies are designed to link assets across networks but have distinctions:

• CCIP is a cross-chain messaging framework that allows developers to transfer data across chains using smart contract-based mechanisms. • CCTP is a standardized bridge protocol that enables users to make native USDC transfers by burning and minting new USDC between supported chains.

So far, the integration supports: Arbitrum, Avalanche, Base, Ethereum, Noble, OP Mainnet, and Polygon PoS.

So, if you're considering other chains to invest in — besides Bitcoin and Ethereum — the ones Circle is working with might be a good idea.

⌐◪-◪ → Circle CEO — Jeremy Allaire — believes the US Government will pass stablecoin laws this year.

While USDC isn't leading the stablecoin dominance race (Tether is), they are still a significant player, leading the stablecoin regulatory landscape alongside Coinbase, which owns a stake in Circle.

While I generally lean towards less regulation, stablecoin regulation seems like a necessary evil — consider this: the issuers are essentially creating digital dollars.

We are already witnessing other governments regulating digital dollars ahead of the United States, which adds pressure on our lawmakers to establish regulatory clarity and ensure the US remains part of global financial innovation.

Unless we can devise a method to enforce the 1:1 backing of stablecoins with actual US Dollars, regulation will be necessary to maintain transparency and legitimacy.

Let us know what you think — are stablecoin regs good or bad? — by joining Specs Chat below!