Elon Musk announced the launch of the XChat messaging app with claimed Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) -style encryption, but cybersecurity experts are challenging the technical accuracy of the platform’s security assertions.
What Happened: Musk unveiled XChat on Sunday, promoting the app as built on the Rust programming language with Bitcoin-style encryption. The messaging platform features end-to-end encryption, disappearing messages, and file sharing capabilities without requiring phone numbers across all platforms.
However, tech experts immediately questioned the encryption claims. Ian Miers, Assistant Professor of Computer Science at the University of Maryland, stated on X: “Bitcoin primarily uses signatures, not encryption. This is like saying, we decided to run our rocket on water, since NASA uses Hydrogen and Oxygen.”
Miers explained that Bitcoin transactions are signed rather than encrypted, with all data between Bitcoin nodes remaining unencrypted to allow network interaction.
Miers further criticized the technical descriptions, noting: “Needless to say ‘Bitcoin style’ and ‘Rust’ are not descriptions of an encryption scheme, nor are they strong indicators of security for a messaging app.”
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Why It Matters: The launch comes amid ongoing security concerns surrounding Musk’s platforms. X experienced a massive data breach in April, exposing data from 201 million accounts in what SafetyDetectives called “by far the largest social media breach ever.”
The breach included metadata such as account creation dates, locations, and post counts. Additionally, critics have raised questions about X’s content visibility algorithms after several high-profile users reported dramatic reach declines following public disputes with Musk.
In March, Musk’s xAI acquired X for $33 billion, combining the social platform with his artificial intelligence venture.
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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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