Photo credit: Gabby Jones/Bloomberg

Users can no longer generate Bitcoin or other cryptocurrency branded hashtags on Elon Musk’s X, leaving the crypto community — a major presence on the platform — wondering why the change was made.

Reports about the removal of crypto-related “hashmojis” — the term X uses for branded hashtags — began circulating widely on July 26 amid heightened crypto discussions surrounding the Bitcoin Conference in Nashville, Tennessee, which started the day before.

The community expressed disappointment in the move, with one user speculating that it will affect the price of Bitcoin. Another user even posits that the removal might be Musk’s attempt to antagonize BTC maximalists.

Hashmojis related to altcoins, including the Crypto.com Coin and BNB, also reportedly disappeared from the platform.

Branded hashtags with emojis, particularly for crypto assets, started to gain prominence around February 2020. This was when Twitter introduced a Bitcoin emoji that appeared automatically after typing hashtags like “#Bitcoin” or “#BTC” under Jack Dorsey’s leadership​. Since then, other assets also received branded emojis.

A review of X’s website suggests that hashmojis are likely a paid service, as the feature is presented alongside other paid advertising options, and the language used implies a transactional relationship between X and brands utilizing hashmojis. However, X does not explicitly state the cost of using hashmojis or provide a clear pricing structure for the service in the blog post.

Neither X nor Musk has yet to make any announcement about the missing crypto hashmojis, but the billionaire has expressed his dislike for hashtags altogether on several occasions.

“They’re a relic of the past. Keywords or phrases work fine,” Musk replied in a Nov. 9, 2023 poll, which had overwhelming votes in favor of keeping hashtags on X.

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