In light of reports that the United States is considering a security assessment of Elon Musk’s proposed $44 billion takeover of Twitter, Changpeng Zhao (CZ), CEO of the world’s largest crypto exchange, has indicated that he may support Musk’s bid. During Tuesday’s Future Investment Initiative conference in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, CZ was asked if he plans to fulfill his financial commitment to Elon Musk. He responded, “I suppose so.”
Binance, the cryptocurrency exchange, has reportedly stated that it will invest $500 million in Musk’s Twitter acquisition. The official announcement from CZ stated, “We are pleased to assist Elon fulfill his new vision for Twitter.”
Binance’s Changpeng Zhao said, “We expect to be able to play a part in bringing social media and web3 together and extending the use and adoption of crypto and blockchain technologies.”
A judge in Delaware set the deadline for Musk and Twitter to finalize the deal to October 28. When the two sides were in the midst of a heated litigation process leading up to trial on October 17, the judge issued his verdict. Musk had previously stated on Twitter that he intends to proceed with concluding the deal at the originally agreed-upon price.
In the middle of April, Musk announced his plan to acquire Twitter for $54.20 per share. The billionaire tried to get out of the agreement after the Twitter board approved it, claiming that bots were a security risk.
Musk is using both loan and stock funding to fund the acquisition. To help finance the purchase, the billionaire has also sold billions of dollars’ worth of Tesla stock.
Biden’s administration might be obligated to uphold the agreement
Bloomberg reported last week that as the deal’s closing date draws near, Biden administration officials are debating whether to submit some of Musk’s projects, including the planned buyout of Twitter, to national security reviews.
As Bloomberg reports, US officials are worried about Musk’s recent threat to stop supplying the Starlink satellite service to Ukraine because of “what they see as his increasingly Russia-friendly stance following a series of tweets that outlined peace proposals favorable to President Vladimir Putin.”
According to the article, Washington is worried that Musk and his group of “foreign investors,” which could include Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, the cryptocurrency exchange Binance, and Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund, will try to purchase the social media site.