Elon Musk offers a hefty bonus to poach Aave executives, and the X platform may accelerate the integration of crypto payments.

Gate News, March 2026: Elon Musk’s social platform X announced the appointment of senior designer Benji Taylor from the Aave Labs and Base ecosystems as the new Head of Design. This move quickly sparked widespread discussion in the crypto industry. The market generally believes this personnel change is closely related to X’s efforts to integrate crypto features and upgrade its payment system.

Benji Taylor previously founded the design firm Los Feliz Engineering, which was acquired by Aave Labs in 2023. Since then, he has served as Senior Vice President of Product and Design and Chief Product Officer, leading upgrades to multiple DeFi product experiences. After mid-2025, he shifted to oversee the design system development for the Base network, gaining extensive experience in on-chain product development and user experience optimization.

Nikita Bier, head of product at X, revealed that it took nearly six months to bring Taylor’s team onboard, highlighting its strategic importance. Bier stated that the goal is to build an industry-leading design system to support X’s expansion into the integration of fintech and content ecosystems.

Meanwhile, Taylor’s addition is seen as a significant signal of X accelerating its deployment of digital assets. Recently, X’s payment product “X Money” entered a limited testing phase and plans to open early access in April 2026. Based on the exposed interface, the product aims to be an all-in-one financial tool integrating payments, transfers, and social features.

Although the official has not confirmed whether Bitcoin, Ethereum, or other digital assets will be introduced at launch, market expectations for future integration of crypto wallets, stablecoin payments, and even on-chain identity systems have clearly increased, given Taylor’s background in DeFi and on-chain products.

In the context of intensified competition among super apps, successfully connecting social and crypto payment scenarios could have a substantial impact on the existing boundaries between Web2 and Web3. Currently, upgrades to the design system and talent acquisition are seen as key steps toward achieving this goal.