• by Colin Kirkland , October 28, 2022

After indicating that it would co-invest in Twitter in May 2022, alongside 18 other investors, crypto exchange Binance confirmed on Friday that it is an equity investor in Elon Musk’s takeover of local media platform Twitter.

Binance founder Changpeng Zhao tweeted that the company had wired $500 million to Musk two days ago.

This contribution makes the crypto exchange Twitter’s fourth largest contributor to Musk’s takeover, with the biggest investment being $1 bullion from the Lawrence J. Ellison Revocable Trust. 

“We're excited to be able to help Elon realize a new vision for Twitter,” Zhao said in an emailed statement. “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.”

In May, when the Musk takeover was in its infancy, Zhao referred to Binance’s $500 million commitment as “a small contribution to the cause.”  

“Our initial commitment remains the same and we look forward to exploring opportunities to grow the partnership in the future,” a Binance spokesperson said.

Binance told Yahoo Finance that the company is creating a team that will focus on ways in which cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology could be helpful to Twitter.

“For example, how can we build on-chain solutions to address some of Twitter's issues, such as the proliferation of bot accounts in recent years. We are in the early stages now and still figuring out a plan," the spokesperson said.

Crypto and Web3, as Zhao suggested, may be a focus for Musk’s Twitter. 

As of Thursday, Twitter began testing a new feature called “NFT Tweet Tiles”  that lets users purchase NFTs through various marketplaces like Rarible, Dapper Labs, and Magic Eden. 

Dogecoin, the popular meme cryptocurrency that Musk promoted last year, has risen by 38% in less than a week. According to Coinmarketcap, the market capitalization for Dogecoin has risen $3 billion, and is now worth $10.6 billion.