Binance is to spend $500 million in equity capital as part of a $7 billion financial commitment to help Elon Musk acquire Twitter. Other investors include Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison and venture capital company Sequoia Capital.
Binance’s participation is noteworthy, not least because of its industry. According to CoinGecko data, the business is the world’s largest crypto exchange, processing $70 billion in daily spot and derivative trading volumes.
Binance’s decision to join Elon Musk’s $44 billion buyouts of Twitter might bolster digital currency advocates’ aspirations for a more “decentralized,” crypto-friendly social media platform.
Binance’s wealthy CEO and creator, Changpeng Zhao, believes in the crypto community’s concept of a new type of internet known as Web3. Web3 as a notion relates to new online experiences based around blockchain, the technology that underpins numerous cryptocurrencies. It’s an ill-defined word.
Non-fungible tokens, or NFTs — the crypto counterpart of collectible objects like rare paintings or trading cards — might be integrated into areas like social media, online browsers, and video games.
A stake in Twitter controlled by Binance might be Zhao’s ticket to realizing Web3’s decentralized goals.
Zhao told CNBC on Thursday, “We’re pleased to be able to assist Elon to realize a new vision for Twitter.” “We intend to play a part in bringing social media and Web3 together, as well as expanding the use and adoption of cryptocurrency and blockchain technologies.”
Musk, who calls himself a “free speech absolutist,” has regularly complained about Twitter’s censoring of conservative voices on the network. Bitcoin and other digital currencies are decentralized, which proponents claim to make them “censorship-resistant.”
Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey helped develop a program to build decentralized social media protocols before stepping down as CEO. Bluesky was founded to solve the problem of a few large tech businesses owning the most popular web services.
