Cryptocurrency commentator ZachXBT criticized X for now requiring an annual charge for brand spanking new accounts.
ZachXBT wrote April 15 The brand new coverage will not eradicate scams pushed by bot accounts, as “a whole lot of enterprise-verified rip-off accounts” come on-line each week. Scammers reportedly paid 1000’s of {dollars} for pretend accounts.
He stated he does not object to Elon Musk’s stewardship of X, however does not consider the social media platform understands the extent of the black marketplace for verified accounts.
He additionally warned that the coverage “will stifle person development.”
As proof of the widespread prevalence of rip-off accounts, ZachXBT posted a screenshot of a number of pretend accounts promising rewards associated to the interworking protocol Wormhole. In line with X’s current verification coverage, many pretend accounts have a gold examine mark.
Not a robotic charge
X up to date its coverage on April 15 to require new customers to pay a small annual charge earlier than posting, liking, bookmarking, and replying as a spam prevention measure.
In October 2023, the corporate started testing the coverage in New Zealand and the Philippines, utilizing a subscription mannequin known as “not a bot” that features an annual charge of $1. The newest replace extends comparable insurance policies to new customers in different areas.
Musk, who serves as X’s chief know-how officer and government chairman, confirmed the brand new coverage in a submit and tried to justify it. He stated the brand new charge granted “write entry” to the positioning, calling the coverage “the one approach to curb the relentless assaults of bots.”
Musk linked the bot drawback to synthetic intelligence and troll farms, however didn’t explicitly handle the problem of crypto scams, which has brought on vital losses to customers.
Public information reveals that cryptocurrency scams are extraordinarily worthwhile. In October 2023, the U.S. Federal Commerce Fee said that social media scams had generated $2.7 billion in income over time. Within the first half of 2023, 53% of investment-related social media scams concerned cryptocurrencies.
The submit X’s controversial “not a bot” charge is unlikely to eradicate scams appeared first on CryptoSlate, says on-chain sleuth ZachXBT.
