Elon Musk’s X (formerly, Twitter) has apparently started considering the sale of dormant user handles.
This initiative, aimed at leveraging the platform’s vast but untapped digital estate, has been set into motion with a pronounced price tag: handles are on the market for a startling $50,000.
The $50,000 will apparently go to X for making the purchase on behalf of the bidder.
The endeavor, internally spearheaded by the “@Handle Team,” was uncovered through emails that Forbes had access to but chose not to fully disclose, in order to maintain the privacy of the involved parties.
These correspondences from X have explicitly laid out the new guidelines and the transactional process for acquiring the coveted handles. The creation of this marketplace aligns with Musk’s prior announcements, where he lamented the squandering of handles by bots and trolls and signaled a sweeping clean-up.
While X has historically maintained a strict policy on handle availability, stating an inability to release inactive usernames, the platform’s pivot towards monetizing these digital assets marks a significant shift. This is reflective of Musk’s broader strategy to rejuvenate X’s financial framework, amidst varying reactions from the user base and observers alike.
The progression of X’s handle marketplace emerges alongside Musk’s introduction of tiered subscription services, another attempt to boost revenue. This initiative offers subscribers an array of enhanced features, from longer posts to ad reduction based on the subscription level, with the “X Premium” (yes, Twitter Blue and X Premium are one and the same) service at the helm.
In the face of these changes, X stands at a crossroads of innovation and controversy, with the digital community keenly watching Musk’s next move. Whether this will bolster the platform’s fortunes or challenge its foundational principles remains a subject of intense debate.
Meanwhile, if you don’t want to lose your X account to the Musk’s marketplace for usernames, remember to log in every 30 days to prevent it from being classified as inactive.
