Musk’s X Hires Crypto Veteran to Lead X Money Design Push

• Benji Taylor, a veteran in crypto product design, has been appointed as the new head of design at X, overseeing design across the platform as well as xAI and SpaceX.
• The hire comes ahead of the scheduled April launch of X Money, a financial services ecosystem that includes peer-to-peer payments and bank deposits.
• Taylor brings extensive experience from the blockchain sector, having previously held leadership roles at Coinbase’s Base network and Aave Labs.

A Strategic Addition to X's Leadership

Elon Musk's social media platform X has significantly bolstered its product team by recruiting Benji Taylor to lead design efforts. Taylor's move to X follows a distinguished career in the cryptocurrency space. He most recently served as the head of design at Base, the Layer-2 blockchain developed by Coinbase.

Before his tenure at Base, Taylor was the founder of Los Feliz Engineering, the studio that developed the self-custody wallet Family. After Aave Labs acquired his firm in 2023, he served as Chief Product Officer for the decentralized lending giant until October 2025. Nikita Bier, a product lead at X, noted that he had been monitoring Taylor’s work for years, describing his previous product designs as some of the best in the industry.

The Roadmap for X Money

The appointment of a crypto-native design lead aligns with the platform's aggressive push into the financial sector. Elon Musk recently confirmed that X Money is slated for an April rollout. The service aims to transform the social media app into a comprehensive financial hub. Key features planned for the launch include:

• Peer-to-peer transactions for users within the platform.
• Traditional bank deposits and a dedicated debit card.
• Cashback rewards for active users.
• A proposed 6% yield on account balances.

Bridging Social Media and Finance

While X Money has secured licenses to operate in more than 40 U.S. states, the platform has not yet officially confirmed whether blockchain technology or digital assets will be integrated into the initial release. However, the hiring of Taylor—whose career is deeply rooted in decentralized finance and wallet infrastructure—suggests that X is positioning itself to eventually bridge the gap between social media and crypto-enabled financial services. For now, the focus remains on establishing a robust payments infrastructure that can compete with established fintech players.