X Rolls Out Smart Cashtags to Cut Crypto Spam and Ticker Confusion

• X’s Smart Cashtags will link tickers to exact tokens/contracts with charts and asset pages.
• The rollout coincides with EU DSA enforcement and a €120M fine over transparency issues.
• Musk plans to open-source X’s ranking and ad algorithms with updates every four weeks.

X is on the verge of introducing a new feature known as Smart Cashtags, aimed at eliminating ticker confusion and streamlining user conversations about stocks and cryptocurrencies on the platform. This is a rather sensitive time for the platform, given the increased enforcement by the Digital Service Act in Europe and the growing sentiment from crypto users that “Crypto Twitter” is now dominated by bots.

“Smart Cashtags will enable users to assign to that ticker symbol the actual asset or smart contract that it corresponds to,” said Nikita Bier, product leader at X and the project lead for Smart Cashtags. “When users try to post with a cashtag ($BTC or $SOL), for example, they’ll be prompted to choose which token or contract address to link it to,” Nikita Bier said. Users would be able to tap on that cashtag in their timeline to get charts and information related to it.”

X is now taking feedback and is planning a release of a public version as early as next month, according to Bier.

Why Smart Cashtags matter for crypto

Cashtags have been used as a mechanism to enable traders to monitor story developments as they happen, but the cryptocurrency market presents a distinct situation, in which is such that several currencies have similar names, while scam currencies frequently mimic popular ones.

Smart Cashtags tries to address this issue by relating tickers to verified token identities. Solana Labs further showcased mockups with a dropdown menu triggered when the dollar sign is entered. The demonstration included Bitcoin, BONK, Base assets, and Solana ecosystem tokens, each leading to an information-rich assets page.

If X is able to implement this feature, it will make it easier to understand crypto conversations and will reduce the chances of promoting the wrong asset.

Rollout comes as X faces regulatory pressure in Europe

The timing matters. X is dealing with escalating scrutiny in the European Union over transparency, algorithmic accountability, and bot activity.

In December, the European Commission fined X €120 million for DSA transparency failures. These, the Commission argued, included questionable design on the issue of verification, some holes in the ad repository, and the openness of data for researchers.

Meanwhile, an article by Reuters reported that the European Commission extended a retention order on X to preserve documents on algorithms and the illegal spread of content until the end of 2026.

Musk promises open-sourced ranking code

Platform owner Elon Musk responded by promising to open-source X’s ranking systems. Musk said X will publish the full code used for both organic and advertising recommendations within seven days, then repeat releases every four weeks with detailed developer notes explaining changes.

That move aims to counter claims that X suppresses certain communities while giving paying accounts too much reach.

Crypto users blame bots and “engagement farming”

Crypto users have intensified criticism in recent months, arguing that spam accounts dominate crypto threads while genuine analysts lose visibility. Ki Young Ju, founder of CryptoQuant, has said X struggles to distinguish bots from real users, especially since paid verification makes it easy for spammers to “pay to spam.”

Smart Cashtags could address part of the problem by making it harder for bots to exploit ticker confusion and by creating cleaner asset discovery flows.

X still serves as crypto’s fastest real-time communication layer. With Smart Cashtags, the company signals that it wants finance and crypto to remain central to its ecosystem while it fights regulation pressure and a growing bot crisis at the same time.

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