Elon Musk announced on Sunday that X is set to roll out XChat, an enhanced version of its direct messaging platform, to all users beginning this week. The new messaging service includes advanced features such as encrypted communication, disappearing messages, file-sharing capabilities, and audio and video calls. However, these enhancements, although ambitious, are not yet widely accessible: XChat only recently opened beta testing to a limited user base, and Musk indicated the full-scale release might encounter delays if scaling complications arise during the expansion.
In explaining the improvements, Musk described XChat as built on Rust utilizing “Bitcoin-style encryption” within a completely revamped architecture. This phrase, however, has caused confusion among experts and observers. Critics pointed out that Bitcoin itself doesn’t actually use encryption, but rather relies on a form of public key cryptography primarily for secure transactions and identity verification. Consequently, debate continues about whether Musk’s comment was a misunderstood statement, marketing jargon, or simply a misnomer—perhaps conflating encryption with Bitcoin’s cryptographic security model.
X has previously aimed at competing directly with established encrypted messaging services like Signal and Apple’s iMessage. With Musk now referring ambiguously to “Bitcoin-style encryption,” the effectiveness of XChat’s security measures and its capability to rival existing solutions remains uncertain. Nevertheless, Musk highlighted the service’s new capability allowing users to perform audio and video calls without linking their phone numbers, across a variety of supported platforms.
Ahead of XChat’s rollout, the company paused its work on the original encrypted messaging feature, suggesting a strategic shift toward the newer messaging platform. Despite the vision for product improvement and expansion, X has recently experienced significant technical disruptions. Several outages over the past week have left users without access to basic functionalities, including their timelines and messaging services—raising concerns about whether the release of XChat might face similar stability challenges.
