Elon quoted a post on X from Ian Miles Cheong yesterday, suggesting that setting replies to verified accounts only would be "worth doing," supposedly to cut down on spam and increase payouts.
Looking at the bigger picture though, I think such a trend on X would cause more harm than good.
Reputation > Verification
The first problem is with the verification process itself.
In order to be "verified" on X, you need to pay for a premium subscription, and that requires a government-approved bank account or credit card. Right off the bat, billions of unbanked people in the world would be excluded from replying.
Other people came to the defense of non-premium users as well, saying that such a move would not be fair, as it excludes people who are struggling financially (due to Fed-induced inflation) and simply cannot afford premium.
How else could X fight spam?
Aside from just checking if a user is verified/premium, X could take into account the user's reputation. For example, how many years has the account been active? How often does the user write, comment, and like posts? What kind of engagement have they received from high-value accounts, etc.
Ultimately, a user's reputation built over years/decades should be worth more than having a blue checkmark.
No Crypto Payments!
This is the most frustrating aspect of it all.
While Elon continually posts about how America is going bankrupt, and that the US dollar is on the verge of collapse, he still doesn't allow X users to pay for a premium subscription with cryptocurrency.
Given this acknowledgement, why does X insist on supporting an unsustainable, closed, debt-based financial system by requiring a credit card or bank account for premium access?
Why don't they accept Bitcoin, Dogecoin, or other cryptocurrencies for payment?
Is it because the integration of crypto would be too difficult? Would powerful bankers give Elon "the call" if he did?
The Solution
At the end of the day, all we can do is hope that X enables crypto payments for premium access in the future. Until then, unbanked non-premium users may face difficulties.
In the meantime, we have InLeo on the Hive blockchain, where anyone in the world can create an account without government approval, and they can use the permissionless stablecoin HBD to pay for a premium subscription!
Until next time...
If you learned something new from this article, be sure to check out my other posts on crypto and finance here on the Hive blockchain. You can also follow me on InLeo for more frequent updates.