What’s this “X app” that Elon’s talking about?

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Today's stories:

• What’s this “X app” that Elon’s talking about?

• Thread of the day-ish

• Standard phone chargers in Europe by 2024

What’s this “X app” that Elon’s talking about?

TL;DR

• Elon Musk finally acquired Twitter for $44 billion

• Musk tweeted plans to use Twitter as part of a “super app” called X

• super apps perform multiple functions (social, transport, banking, etc.) 

• WeChat and other super apps are big in Asia, but there’s currently no US equivalent

so the $44 billion Elon & Twitter deal went through.

and what better way to mark the occasion than an enigmatic Elon tweet:

wtf is X, the everything app?

Elon Musk has a thing for the letter X. 

one of his earliest projects, a financial services company from 1999, was called x.com. It was part of the merger that led to PayPal in 2000.

funds from the sale of PayPal to eBay helped kickstart two of Musk’s passion projects: SpaceX and the Model X.

now, it seems like Elon wants to create a new app and brand it with his favorite letter of the alphabet. he established X holdings as a home for his Twitter acquisition.

Musk also rebought his x.com domain for an undisclosed fee in 2017. it’s one of only three single-letter .com domains.

everything apps

super apps or “everything apps” are big in Asia. they eat up screentime by offering users a single place to do most smartphone activities: chat, post, consume content, manage money, etc.

basically, imagine your favorite social media platform combined with Uber & Uber Eats, plus integrated extensions for all kinds of micro applications.

in Musk’s first Twitter town hall in June, he referenced the OG Chinese super app WeChat – and floated the idea of turning Twitter into a similar platform that could 4X its userbase to a billion people.

he’s also previously mentioned that Twitter could benefit by moving toward the other Chinese breakout social media platform, TikTok.

What is WeChat?

• WeChat is a Chinese social app with over 1 billion users

• it offers audio/video calls and messages, plus huge group threads

• the app has expanded from a messenger to include Tencent products like WeChat Pay

• plus mini-apps that integrate with WeChat’s interface and attract 200 million daily users

• according to Bloomberg, WeChat mini apps have a $240 billion economy

• the expansive ecosystem lets WeChat users order food and rides, book restaurant tables, and see a doctor, alongside consuming news, entertainment, and messages

• WeChat has also become one of China’s biggest payment networks

tbh, it seems like Elon has spotted yet another awesome business opportunity, one that could use his experience with digital & mobile payments.

X could also help push mainstream blockchain adoption if he decides to incorporate crypto & NFT exchange services.

So Twittercoin, then?

Thread of the day-ish

Q3 was a wild ride, hey?

From rising interest rates and falling fiat currencies to the Merge, Opensea’s slump, and Do Kwon’s Red Notice, web3 had a volatile summer.

Now we’re into October, 2022 has us feeling like a later-season Rick Grimes, out here doin what we gotta do to survive.

Fall tip: you don’t want a PSL, you want a grande latte with 2 pumps pumpkin. It’s a superior beverage. 

If there was one web3 company that did much more than survive last quarter, however, it was Polygon.

In a down market, they pulled off some of the biggest corporate deals the space has yet seen – with MATIC up by more than 50% over the quarter as a result.

Here’s a thread from the Empire podcast summarizing Polygon’s biggest recent partnerships:

Standard phone chargers in Europe by 2024

TL;DR

• An EU law requiring USB-C charging ports on all phones and portable devices by 2024 was passed with a 602 - 13 majority

For years, the EU has wanted to bring in laws to reduce device accessory waste. Today, a vote on standard charging cables finally went through, with a huge majority of 602 vs 13.

By 2024, all cell phones and portable devices sold in Europe must have a universal charging port. USB-C will be the first new common charging type.

Obviously, this will affect Apple more than other companies, who have long-pushed to keep their phones and iPads within a closed ecosystem – charging eye-watering prices for connectors, chargers, and adapters.

European laptops will also need to conform to the new law, though manufacturers have until 2026 to make changes there. Small devices like smartwatches, or those that use inductive charging, are currently exempt.

So will this law actually help the environment?

According to the EU, half a billion chargers are shipped into Europe each year.

Research contained in the law’s proposal doc estimates that, by moving to universal chargers, the continent could save 980 tonnes of “e-waste,” plus a bunch of emissions associated with the production and disposal of plastic cables and metal parts.

Part of the calculation here involves the assumption that device manufacturers will move away from including charging cables inside the box with new products.

TheDaily says: we’re all for saving Apple users from the tyranny of Lightning connectors. But who gets to decide when it’s time to upgrade USB-C – and what about the emissions of companies who choose to make devices in EU & Non-EU variants?

Headlines of the day

• Japan to Invest in Metaverse and NFT Expansion

• NFT Poster Collection To Celebrate 60 Years Of 007

• Three Arrows Capital’s Premium Ethereum NFT Collection Is on the Move

Disclaimer: Nothing in this article/newsletter should be considered financial advice. The purpose is to inform readers of the current trends and news in the web3 space. We encourage every reader to do their own research and not act upon information put forth by Decentra Daily.