Binance founder Changpeng ‘CZ’ Zhao confirmed a $500 million equity investment in Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter Inc.
CZ explained the investment as a move to bridge social media and web3 and spur the wider adoption of cryptocurrency and blockchain tech. He also described the investment as “a small contribution” to help Musk realize his new vision for Twitter.
Binance first announced its $500 commitment to support the acquisition in May. 5, 2022.
Musk finalized the $44 billion acquisition of Twitter Inc on Oct. 27, a day before a court-ordered deadline that would otherwise see the Delaware Chancery Court recommence trial in November.
Musk’s vision for Twitter
A day before the deal’s closing, the billionaire announced that he acquired Twitter because it is essential to the future of civilization via a tweet. He expressed his concerns about social media censorship and his motivation to promote dialogue as a way past political fragmentation via his acquisition.
Musk wants to shape Twitter as “the most respected advertising platform in the world,” free from low-relevancy advertisements, as well as fake and spam accounts — usually operated by bots. He sees the platform replaced with advertising that strengthens brands and grows enterprises.
Musk estimates that 20% of Twitter accounts are bots, but the two firms he hired to clear the issue — Cyabra and CounterAction — estimate the percentages to be 11% and 5.3%, respectively.
Bots have emerged as a problem among crypto influencer accounts, as even verified accounts with a blue tick are not immune to bots. Vitalik Buterin and CZ’s accounts have been hacked to promote fake giveaway scams of cryptocurrency to gain access to investors’ crypto wallets.
In June, Musk held his first meeting with Twitter employees to discuss plans for the platform following his takeover. He highlighted plans to make Twitter’s anti-bot algorithms accessible for public review and the addition of an optional paid-tier service for identity verification. He also confirmed that cryptocurrency payments would be integrated into Twitter, noting that:
“Money is fundamentally digital at this point.”
Other backers of Musk’s vision
Besides support from Binance, Musk’s acquisition is currently financially backed by Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal of Saudi Arabia, Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund, Lawerence J. Ellison Revocable Trust, Sequoia Capital Fund, Vy Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Aliya Capital Partners, Fidelity Management and Research Company, among others.
