Elon Musk continues to expand the X empire, and this time he announced his own messenger called XChat. According to him, the application will support disappearing messages, forwarding of any files and calls - and all this without linking to a phone number.

In his traditional style, the entrepreneur also said that the application will use "Bitcoin-style encryption" and is built on the Rust programming language with a "completely new architecture". However, these statements immediately caused a flurry of criticism from tech specialists and cryptographers, since Bitcoin uses digital signatures, not data encryption.

The problem is that Bitcoin, strictly speaking, does not use encryption at all in the form in which it is understood in messengers. As Luc Dechiere, a Bitcoin Core developer, explained, Bitcoin relies on digital signatures, not data encryption. All transactions in the Bitcoin network are public and transparent, which directly contradicts the concept of private messages in the messenger.

But while there is so much hype around the project, XChat itself is already being tested by selected users with a paid subscription. The launch, apparently, is just around the corner. Integration with the X platform gives the new application a huge potential audience, but on the other hand, Musk's technical statements raise serious questions among information security specialists.

Interestingly, the announcement of XChat almost coincided in time with a public discussion about a potential partnership between Telegram and Musk's AI startup. Perhaps Musk sees XChat not just as an addition to the X ecosystem, but also as a tool for competing with existing messaging platforms.

Technical experts are unanimous in their opinion that the real success of XChat will be determined not so much by loud statements as by the fundamental characteristics of the product. The key factors will be: reliability and transparency of the cryptographic protocols used, user-friendly interface, depth of integration with other services of the X ecosystem, as well as the presence of truly unique functions that competitors do not have. Particular attention will be paid to the scalability of the solution and its resistance to various types of cyberattacks.

Regardless of the commercial success of XChat, the very fact of the appearance of such a product indicates growing competition in the secure communications market. This, in turn, should encourage all players to improve their solutions, which will ultimately benefit consumers. It remains only to wait until promises are transformed into specific technological solutions, and marketing slogans - into proven benefits.