Quick take:
- Binance co-founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhai hopes to accelerate the adoption of blockchain technology by bridging social media and Web3.
- The crypto exchange said in May that it had committed $500 million to Musk’s Twitter acquisition.
- Binance is among a consortium of 18 other investors that includes venture capital firm Sequoia Capital and investment firm Fidelity.
Binance has confirmed its investment in Elon Musk’s $44 billion buyout of Twitter, according to a Bloomberg report. The cryptocurrency exchange said in May that it had planned to invest $500 million alongside Musk in the acquisition deal.
“We aim to play a role in bringing social media and Web3 together in order to broaden the use and adoption of crypto and blockchain technology,” Binance co-founder and CEO said in a statement.
A Binance spokesperson said that the company’s “initial commitment remains the same” and the company looks forward to “exploring opportunities to grow the partnership in the future.”
Filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission show Binance is among a consortium of 18 other investors that includes venture capital firm Sequoia Capital and investment firm Fidelity.
After closing the acquisition deal, Elon Musk tweeted “The bird is freed,” referencing Twitter’s blue bird logo. He also fired Twitter’s top executives including CEO Parag Agrawal, CFO Ned Segal and legal affairs and policy chief Vijaya Gadde, according to people familiar with the matter. The sources added that Agrawal and Segal were escorted out of Twitter’s San Francisco headquarters.
Bloomberg also reported that Musk intends to take over the role of Twitter’s CEO, and lift permanent bans on users. He then assured advertisers that “Twitter obviously cannot become a free-for-all hellscape, where anything can be said with no consequences!”
The road to Musk’s Twitter buyout was filled with twists and turns as he first became the social media platform’s largest shareholder with a 9.2 per cent stake in April. Following that, he agreed to join Twitter’s board before backing out and offering to buy the company for $54.20 per share.
In the following weeks, Musk’s lawyers accused Twitter of not providing information on spam accounts leading the Tesla CEO to call off the acquisition deal on Jul 8. Twitter then sued Musk four days later, forcing him to complete the acquisition as legal analysts said that Twitter had a higher chance of winning to the lawsuit.
To avoid going to trial, Musk managed to close the deal on Oct 4, a day ahead of a deadline given by a judge. Following the acquisition, Twitter is now a private company and delisted from the New York Stock Exchange, effective Friday.
Meanwhile, Twitter is also expanding its web3 strategy with Tweet Tiles, a test product that will enable users to share call-to-action (CTA)-enabled NFTs and collectibles on the platform.
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