Elon Musk is facing intense scrutiny over his upcoming payments platform, **X Money**, with Senator Elizabeth Warren raising serious concerns about its potential risks to consumers, national security, and financial stability.

## Regulatory Concerns Mount

In a letter to Musk, Senator Warren (D-MA) questions whether X Money can safely handle transactions, citing Musk's "track record operating X" as a major red flag. The platform, set to launch in early public access in April, promises features like funding through Visa Direct, debit card connections for peer-to-peer transactions, and bank account transfers.

## History of Controversy

Warren points to X's troubled past, including:
- **Regulatory criticism over child sexual abuse material circulation**
- **AI chatbot Grok generating harmful content**
- **Allowing users subject to US sanctions to pay for Premium subscriptions**

"This track record raises serious questions about the privacy, scams and frauds, and illicit finance risks X Money may pose," Warren writes.

## Banking Partner Under Scrutiny

Screenshots from early access users reveal that X Money deposits are "held by Cross River Bank" - an institution that faced **FDIC enforcement actions in 2023 and 2018** for "unsafe and unsound practices." Warren calls this partnership particularly concerning given the bank's history of regulatory violations.

## Crypto Connections and Regulatory Gaps

The letter highlights how **DOGE's dismantling of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau** created regulatory gaps that could benefit X Money. Warren notes that the crypto-friendly **GENIUS Act includes suspicious carveouts** allowing private companies like X to launch stablecoins - coinciding with X's hints about entering the crypto market.

## Demanding Answers

Warren has given Musk until April 21st to answer more than a dozen questions about X Money, including:
- Whether Cross River Bank will serve as its banking partner
- Plans to issue a stablecoin
- Controls to prevent scams, fraud, and illicit finance
- Whether the service will "surveil and monetize consumer transaction data"

_The Verge_ reached out to X for comment but received no immediate response.

Elon Musk is facing questions about his upcoming payments platform X Money, and whether it will allow users to safely perform transactions.

Elon Musk's X Money Under Fire: Senator Warren Grills Tech Titan Over Payment Platform Risks

## The $424,000 Bitcoin Theft

Musician G. Love lost his life savings after downloading a **fake Ledger Live app** from Apple's Mac App Store, according to a post on his X account. Blockchain investigator ZachXBT traced the stolen **5.92 bitcoin** (worth about $424,000) through nine transactions to deposit addresses at KuCoin, an exchange with compliance issues that may hinder fund recovery.

## How the Scam Worked

The theft combined a **counterfeit app** with a critical mistake by the musician. While setting up his hardware wallet on a new computer, G. Love likely entered his **seed phrase** into the lookalike software. On its website, Ledger warns that requests to input seed phrases are a red flag for fraudulent software. Hardware wallets are designed to avoid exposing that phrase, but he assumed Apple's App Store had vetted the program. The funds vanished immediately after he confirmed the phrase, wiping out nearly a decade of retirement savings accumulated in bitcoin.

![Musician G. Love's X post about the theft](https://x.com/glove/status/2043047396322451700)

## The Aftermath and Warnings

"I been in the crypto circus since 2017," said Love in a follow-up post. "Today they caught me off guard. It was my own damn fault for not being more diligent. But let it serve as a warning. There's so many scams."

According to ZachXBT, Apple has seemingly pulled the malicious app from the Mac App Store, but the tech giant has issued no public comment. This isn't the first time counterfeit crypto software has slipped through app store reviews—in 2023, a fake Ledger Live app on Microsoft's store stole nearly **$600,000 in bitcoin** from multiple victims.

## The Risks of Self-Custody

G. Love's case highlights the **personal responsibility** required for true bitcoin self-custody. Holders need a solid grasp of operational security and how transactions settle on the Bitcoin network. This combination has long been seen as a barrier to broader mainstream adoption.

Physical theft is another risk, with criminals using violence in **wrench attacks** to force transfers. Recent examples include an $11 million daylight robbery and a French tax agent accused of selling personal data on crypto users to organized crime groups.

Even sophisticated players aren't immune. North Korean agents allegedly spent six months infiltrating Drift Protocol through social engineering before executing a **$285 million hack**. In another incident, the FBI arrested a man accused of stealing $46 million worth of cryptocurrency from a U.S. government reserve.

## The Shift Toward Centralized Custody

Many investors have sidestepped these risks by choosing **bitcoin ETFs** or corporate proxies. Strategy, the bitcoin treasury company formerly known as MicroStrategy, announced the purchase of another $1 billion worth of bitcoin, adding 13,927 bitcoin and bringing its total holdings to 780,897 bitcoin—more than **3.5% of all bitcoin in circulation**.

Bitcoin increasingly looks positioned to serve as a **reserve asset** within a new financial architecture rather than a tool for routine individual transactions. Multiple U.S. states have moved forward with strategic bitcoin reserves, and Iran has started demanding bitcoin for toll payments on safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz, signaling its value as a neutral medium for cross-border trade.

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The theft apparently combined a counterfeit app with a critical mistake by the musician.

Musician's Life Savings Stolen: How a Fake Crypto Wallet App on Apple's Store Led to a $424K Bitcoin Heist

**Justin Sun**, one of the largest investors in the Trump family's primary crypto company, **World Liberty Financial**, has publicly criticized the company, claiming it is misleading investors. This marks a significant moment as a crypto insider aligned with President Donald Trump calls out his family's crypto dealings, which Democrats argue benefit from presidential authority.

On Sunday, Sun, a billionaire and prominent figure in the crypto industry, took to X to accuse World Liberty of establishing a system that grants company officials unilateral power over user accounts, including the ability to freeze them. Sun alleges that his account has been frozen since September, preventing him from selling his holdings. According to analysis by blockchain tracking group Bubblemaps, the value of these holdings has declined by over $80 million, now standing at about $43 million. Sun reportedly invested at least $75 million in World Liberty tokens, once becoming its largest investor.

In his statement, Sun wrote, "I have always been an ardent supporter of President Trump and his crypto-friendly policy," but added, "this is the opposite of decentralization. This is a trap door marketed as an open door. I denounce the ongoing token scandals by the bad actors at WLFI."

World Liberty responded on social media by accusing Sun of misconduct that warranted the freeze and hinted at a potential lawsuit. The company pointed to past legal issues, noting that the Securities and Exchange Commission charged Sun in 2023 with fraud over crypto trades and illicit promotion, a case dismissed in March after he agreed to pay a $10 million fine. In a post on X, World Liberty stated, "We have the contracts. We have the evidence. We have the truth. See you in court pal."

World Liberty, co-founded by Trump's three sons and listing Trump as a co-founder emeritus, launched in 2024 during Trump's third presidential campaign. Trump was removed from official positions upon taking office, with the White House stating he is not involved in managing his family's crypto holdings. The company promised to become a leader in crypto and decentralized finance, with Eric Trump remaining a key figure and set to be the keynote speaker at the Bitcoin 2026 conference.

![Key Speakers At Bitcoin 2025](https://media-cldnry.s-nbcnews.com/image/upload/t_fit-760w,f_auto,q_auto:best/rockcms/2025-05/250530-bitcoin-conference-ew-401p-52ca7c.jpg)
*Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. at the Bitcoin 2025 conference in Las Vegas.*

Dozens of crypto platforms have emerged in recent years, each with their own tokens governed by company rules. Many offer assurances on security and fund handling, but most tokens have declined in value alongside the broader crypto market. World Liberty's primary token, WLFI, has lost 74% of its value since August, trading at around 8 cents as of Monday. However, its stablecoin, USD1, ranks among the top 10 most heavily used stablecoins, benefiting from partnerships and availability on major exchanges like Binance and Kraken.

Sun's criticism comes amid broader investor concerns about World Liberty's finances. In February, blockchain data reported by CoinDesk revealed that World Liberty borrowed $75 million from another crypto group, Dolomite, using 5% of the entire WLFI supply as collateral. This sparked fears on social media about the company's ability to repay if WLFI's value continues to drop. World Liberty responded on X, stating it is "nowhere near liquidation" and would add more collateral if needed, later announcing it had repaid $25 million.

Austin Campbell, a crypto consultant and instructor at New York University, commented that concerns about the loan arrangement are justified, noting, "If you took this conduct and translated it to traditional markets, you would have some problems."

A representative for the SEC did not respond to requests for comment. Last year, House Democrats dedicated a week to criticizing the Trump family's crypto activities, accusing Trump of "profiting off the Presidency," which the White House denied. World Liberty's governing document indicates that a Trump family-owned company is entitled to 75% of revenues from token sales after expenses. Trump's 2025 financial disclosure listed over $57 million in income from World Liberty, with the Trump Organization not commenting and the White House denying conflicts of interest.

Shortly before his inauguration in January 2025, Trump launched another crypto token called TRUMP through a separate entity. Its value has also plummeted, trading at around $2.81 compared to a peak of $45 at launch. A coin launched by Melania Trump around the same time followed a similar decline, though she has denied direct involvement in its management.

Justin Sun, among the largest investors in the Trump family’s primary crypto company, claims the company is misleading investors.

1 month ago Bitcoin Articles Digested