Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao says his US$500 million for Elon Musk’s Twitter takeover is because he supports free speech
- The chief executive of Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, said his support for free speech is the No 1 reason the company invested in Twitter
- It is unclear how actively involved co-investors like Binance could be in Twitter’s future, as Musk fully controls the board
“Number one is that we want to be extremely supportive of free speech,” Zhao said at the opening event of Europe’s largest tech conference, the Web Summit, in Lisbon, adding that Twitter is “where people express their opinions”.
“It is an important free speech platform – that’s the number one reason,” he added.
Binance founder CZ sues Modern Media for libel in Hong Kong
Musk’s Twitter takeover saga came to an end on Thursday when the deal officially closed after months of twists and turns in and outside the courtroom, and Musk immediately fired top executives at the platform.
It is unclear how actively involved co-investors like Binance could be in Twitter’s future as a minority investor, since Musk fully controls the board and decision-making in the now-private Twitter.
Most of his co-investors in the US$44 billion deal are funds such as Sequoia Capital, Fidelity Management, Andreessen Horowitz and Brookfield.
Binance said last week it is creating a team to work on how blockchain and crypto could be helpful to Twitter.
“I’m a heavy Twitter user,” Zhao said, adding Binance planned to be a long-term investor in the platform. “I want to invest in products that are important for our industry.”
Musk said on Tuesday Twitter would charge US$8 for its Blue service, which includes its sought-after “verified” badge in his push to monetise the service and make the social media network less reliant on ads. Zhao said he supported the idea.
Asked about other ideas Musk has for the platform, Zhao said: “Elon Musk is a very hard guy to predict.”
