Elon Musk announces bitcoin messenger XChat — critics are skeptical

X CEO Elon Musk announced on Sunday the launch of a new messenger called XChat. Despite the promise of the new technology, the crypto community and tech experts were skeptical.

The main feature of XChat was the use of the Rust programming language and «Bitcoin-style» encryption. However, experts pointed out that bitcoin transactions are signed, not encrypted. «Bitcoin BTC $105,531.79 Bitcoin 0.15% Market capitalization $2.1 trillion VOL. 24 hours $0.69 billion mainly uses signatures, not encryption. It’s like saying we’re going to launch a rocket on water because NASA uses hydrogen and oxygen," commented Ian Mears, an associate professor at the University of Maryland.

He also noted that the terms «Bitcoin-style» and «Rust» are not encryption specifications and do not indicate high security for the messenger. «If the encrypted messages are not stored exclusively in the app, chances are they are not just in Rust,» Mears added.

XChat promises end-to-end encryption, message disappearance, and the ability to send any file, including audio and video, without being tied to a phone number. However, according to experts, the announced technical details do not yet provide a clear picture of the reliability and security of the new platform.

For now, the bitcoin market remains stable — according to CoinDesk, the rate is holding at around $ 105,000 after falling by more than 3% last week.