Surpassing X Twitter! Threads mobile users exceed 140 million, advertisers are turning to Zuckerberg.

The total global active users of Threads have reached approximately 320 million, with an average of about 143 million daily active users (DAU) on mobile devices, surpassing X for the same period. The shift in brand and advertising budgets is accelerating, marking a key turning point in the power structure of social media platforms.

Threads Mobile Users Surpass X Twitter

As 2026 approaches, the global social media market is experiencing a historic turning point. According to the latest data, Meta’s text-based social platform Threads has officially surpassed Elon Musk-led X (formerly Twitter) in total active users on mobile.

According to Forbes, as of January 2026, Threads’ global active users have reached about 320 million, with approximately 143 million DAU on mobile, surpassing X for the same period. This event, seen as a direct confrontation between Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk, is currently in a stalemate, with one side rising strongly and the other facing growth bottlenecks.

Image source: Similarweb The total global active users of Threads have reached about 320 million, surpassing Musk’s X

The growth momentum of Threads mainly stems from its deep integration with Instagram, allowing existing users to seamlessly transition to the new platform. Data shows that in December 2025 alone, Threads attracted over 30 million new registrations. In contrast, after Musk’s $44 billion acquisition of X, frequent policy changes and management controversies have led to a continuous decline in user engagement.

Data indicates that in January 2026, X’s daily active users decreased by approximately 11.9% year-over-year, while Threads grew significantly by 38%. Although X still leads in the US market with 21.2 million mobile DAU, slightly ahead of Threads’ 19.5 million, its dominance in the global market has been significantly weakened.

Threads Brand Safety Becomes Key, Advertising Market Focus Shifts

Along with the user base changing hands, the shift in commercial value is also happening simultaneously. Advertisers are accelerating their budget shift from X to Threads, mainly because the latter offers a more “advertiser-friendly” environment.

Analysts predict that Threads is expected to generate approximately 11.3 billion yuan in revenue in the future. In comparison, X’s revenue model is highly dependent on advertising, with about 68% of its income coming from ad sales. However, in 2024, X’s ad revenue only recorded 2.5 billion yuan, a sharp decline of 13.7% year-over-year.

This “digital migration” reflects the high anxiety among major brands regarding the safety of social platform environments. Many brands are uneasy about Musk’s leadership style and X’s lenient content moderation policies. Threads positions itself as a “lower toxicity” alternative and has adopted stricter and more comprehensive content moderation policies, which are evidently more attractive to companies that value brand image.

Additionally, other competitors like Bluesky, which once showed growth potential with user numbers rising from 10 million to 40 million, faced severe user loss after the end of 2025, with daily active users plummeting to 3.6 million, a decline of 44.4%, further establishing Threads as X’s main challenger.

X Offers Million-Dollar Rewards to Fight Back, Can Long-Form Content Reverse the Decline?

In response to the aggressive push from competitors, X has not remained passive. To regain leadership in content creation and boost user activity, X recently announced a “Creator Bounty” program offering up to 1 million yuan. This initiative specifically targets long-form content creators; if their posts are selected as the most influential content during the payout cycle, they can receive a million-yuan reward.

According to official regulations, submissions must be original and over 1,000 words. This move is interpreted as X attempting to retain high-quality content producers through financial incentives and to strengthen its advantages in in-depth reporting and real-time news industries.

However, X’s counterattack still faces significant challenges. While X continues to emphasize its “free speech” platform attribute, attracting some core users, it has also alienated groups seeking a more moderate discussion environment.

Current trends show that content creators are tending to “diversify investments,” managing their presence across X, Threads, and other emerging platforms to reduce risks associated with policy changes on any single platform. Although X previously launched an ad revenue sharing system rewarding accounts with large verified followings, as Threads continues to optimize its algorithms and provide a smooth user experience, the ultimate battle for “who is the king of social media” will depend on who can offer a more stable and sustainable ecosystem with long-term commercial value.

Further Reading
X bans bots impacting Kaito! Token drops nearly 20%, InfoFi era ends?
Misjudging the crypto space? Industry insiders criticize X for limiting crypto tweets, X executives: It’s because crypto people love to post low-quality content

This content is compiled by Crypto Agent from various sources, reviewed and edited by Crypto City. It is still in the training phase and may contain logical biases or inaccuracies. The content is for reference only and should not be considered investment advice.