--- title: "Twitter Rips Into Elon Musk’s New Crypto “Ponzi Scheme”" description: "Elon Musk is moving forward with introducing stock and crypto trading options on the app — and its denizens are calling bull. " date: "2023-04-14" modified: "2023-04-14" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/elon-musk-twitter-etoro-crypto" categories: - "Blockchain" - "Cryptocurrency" - "Elon Musk" - "Future Society" - "The Industrialists" tags: - "crypto" - "elon musk" - "the digest" - "twitter" --- # Twitter Rips Into Elon Musk’s New Crypto “Ponzi Scheme” ![Elon Musk is moving forward with introducing stock and crypto trading options on the app — and its denizens are calling bull. ]() *\Image: Getty / Futurism\* ## Confidence Artist Elon Musk is moving forward with his plan to turn Twitter into an "[everything app]()" by introducing stock and crypto trading options on the social network — and tons of the platform's denizens are calling foul. Twitter is partnering with social trading company eToro, [*CNBC* reports,]() to provide financial services on the site, allowing users to buy and sell stocks, crypto, and other digital assets. These new capabilities, along with expanded market information, will be accessible via the site's already-existing cashtag system, which Musk has reportedly been building towards [since the beginning of 2023](). While lots of [Musk fanboys]() and [Bitcoin bros]() are unsurprisingly excited about the move, others are far more skeptical. "What could possibly go wrong," the account for the [Whiskey Hell podcast tweeted](). ## Cute Moves Given the direction both the [crypto]() world and [Twitter]() have gone as of late, it's hard not to see this as a controversial move. Besides, [crypto scams have been a mainstay]() on the platform, with [Musk impersonators]() claiming they are giving away Bitcoin. Last year, Musk [promised]() to drain Twitter's swamp of crypto scams ahead of buying the company, but the platform is [clearly still riddled]() with them many months later. Now, users are worried that by allowing users to directly trade crypto on the platform, Musk could potentially be inviting in even more of these scams. "Oh you said you wanted them to \*fix\* the crypto spam?" journalist Jacob Silverman [quipped](). "That's cute." Another user [joked]() that the "Ponzi scheme is getting wider," a reference to the widespread belief that crypto is secretly a [pyramid scheme](). ## Moving Forward Others accused the billionaire CEO of turning Twitter into a bloated mess. "The saying used to be, every app expands until it can send email," [another user mused](). "Now every app expands until it’s DraftKings," referring to a popular sports betting app. Whether Twitter is on its way to becoming a [trashy online casino]() or not, the move could be seen as a last-ditch effort to stop the site from [hemorrhaging money](). Then again, the "[pivot to crypto]()" is a tried-and-true [method for the desperate](), right? **More on Elon's Twitter:** [*Elon Musk Whines That Buying Twitter Has Been Emotionally "Painful"*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()