You Can Now Buy ‘Rare’ Inactive X Usernames

If, unlike the millions of Americans who have left the app since the 2024 election, you still care about making a unique presence for yourself or your business on X—now is your chance.

After announcing the feature earlier this year, X has now fully rolled out its Handle Marketplace. The marketplace allows users to buy or claim usernames from old, inactive accounts—common names snapped up early in the site’s history, or humorous, basic puns.

Unfortunately, you’ll have to subscribe to Premium+ or Premium Business to access the marketplace, meaning payments starting at $40 per month or $200 per month respectively, on top of whatever you’re paying for your new handle.

There are also clear restrictions on what is up for grabs. The marketplace is divided into Priority and Rare handles. Priority handles are available to anyone provided they are approved by X’s team, whereas Rare handles are only available via invite or through “public drops”—limited-time sales where multiple users can apply. X says that selection for who gets a Rare username will be based on a combination of factors, such as past contributions to X, your intended use of the handle, and your engagement and reach on the platform.

According to X’s FAQ, Priority handles often include full names, multi-word phrases, or alphanumeric combinations such as @GabrielJones, @PizzaEater, and @ParadoxAI. Rare handles, on the other hand, include short, generic, or culturally significant names such as @Pizza, @Tom, and @One. X claims these Rare handles can go for as much as $2,500 to over seven figures, depending on demand and uniqueness.

If you do decide to go for a new handle, your previous handle will be frozen and made unavailable to others. If you opt for a Priority handle and then choose to cancel or downgrade your subscription to the free version, your old handle will return to your account after a 30-day period.

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Since being taken over by Elon Musk in 2022, X’s attempts to monetize how users identify themselves have had a turbulent history, such as changes to the old Blue checkmark system. X rolled out Blue checkmarks for paid users in 2023, which was followed by several notable incidents of misinformation.

In 2024, a fake “verified” account for pharma giant Eli Lilly posted that insulin would be made free, causing a notable drop to its stock price. X later reinstated blue checks for legacy accounts in 2024, while the paid blue checkmark system is now under scrutiny from EU regulators. In October, X announced it would begin experimenting with forcing accounts to add more information about their history and locations to their profiles.