Binance is now a confirmed equity investor in Elon Musk’s $44 billion high-profile Twitter buyout deal. The news comes after the Tesla/SpaceX CEO reportedly gave the axe to several of the microblogging platform’s top executives after completing the takeover.
The world’s largest exchange is also exploring ways to help Twitter fight spam bots using crypto.
Binance Wired $500M To Reinforce Musk’s Twitter Takeover
Binance fulfilled its earlier promise to help finance Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter.
“We’re excited to be able to help Elon realize a new vision for Twitter. 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 founder and CEO Changpeng Zhao stated in a statement.
Binance first announced plans to back the centibillionaire’s multi-billion-dollar Twitter take-private deal in a Schedule 13-D filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in May this year, with Zhao describing the $500 million commitment as “a small contribution to the cause”.
The Binance chief took to Twitter earlier today to reveal the exchange wired the said amount as part of the agreement two days ago. The $500 million stake makes Binance the fourth-largest contributor to the acquisition. Other institutions, including the Lawrence J. Ellison Revocable Trust, Sequoia, and VyCapital, invested $1 billion, $800 million, and $700 million, respectively.
Per reports, Musk has already booted some senior Twitter execs, including CEO Parag Agrawal, Chief Financial Officer Ned Segal, General Counsel Sean Edgett, and top lawyer Vijaya Gadde, since closing the deal. The erratic tech magnate will assume the CEO role at Twitter and reinstate Twitter users who had been slapped with lifetime suspensions from the social media platform, including former U.S. president Donald Trump.
Binance Wants To Help Twitter With Its Crypto Projects
According to a Friday report from Reuters, Binance is creating an internal team to focus on how crypto and blockchain could be integrated into Twitter. The team would reportedly address various issues, such as how to eliminate bots and inauthentic accounts from the platform.
Spam accounts were particularly a sticking point in Musk’s on-again, off-again bid to purchase Twitter, which initially made him walk away from the deal. Musk and Binance chief Zhao have been repeatedly impersonated despite their blue checkmark verification badges.
Musk is no stranger to the crypto space. His electric car maker Tesla remains one of the biggest holders of Bitcoin by a publicly-listed company — despite liquidating 75% of its total BTC holdings. And Musk has also expressed interest in integrating Dogecoin payments into the platform.
Suffice it to say, Musk’s Twitter takeover is broadly seen as a positive development by the crypto community. As he establishes himself at the social media giant, it wouldn’t be a surprise for him to unveil additional crypto-related products — likely with the backing of Binance.
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