By
Bena Ilyas
April 24th, 2024
While there are concerns that Elon Musk may be supporting Russia’s stance in the war with Ukraine, the administration is also worried about the source of his funding.
Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) has reiterated his commitment to backing Elon Musk’s Twitter takeover.
Earlier, Binance promised to support Elon Musk’s renewed $44 billion Twitter bid with a $500 million commitment. According to CZ, acquiring Twitter provided a real chance to ease social media into Web3. Further, CZ noted that the exchange’s support was conditional on Musk seeing the deal through.
“If he’s off, we’re off,” noted CZ after a June interview. In July, Elon Musk tried to back out of the deal, claiming Twitter was not forthcoming with accurate information. However, Musk could not follow through with the decision to pull out due to mounting legal pressure. In fact, the deal must be completed by Friday or be returned to court.
It’s not at all surprising then that CZ was asked about Binance’s position on its initial commitment. When asked at the Future Initiative Conference in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia whether he would stand by the decision, CZ said, ‘I think so.’
Meanwhile, it’s not just Binance that made monetary commitments. Sequoia Capital Fund, pledged $800 million while Fidelity Management and Research promised $316 million. Comparatively, a16z committed to $400 million.
Washington May Attempt to Stop Twitter Takeover
Despite the position of the court on the Elon Musk Twitter deal, there are concerns that the President Biden administration may block the takeover. According to a Bloomberg report, officials in the administration believe a national security review of Elon Musk’s ventures is in order.
While there are concerns that Elon Musk may be supporting Russia’s stance in the war with Ukraine, the administration is also worried about the source of his funding. For example, despite claiming Binance is not a Chinese company, CZ is one. Elon Musk is also supported by Prince Alwaleed bin Talal of Saudi Arabia.
That said, Musk noted he would stop supporting the satellite deployment of internet service to Ukraine because it has cost him about $80 million. Also, Elon Musk threatened to sack 75% of the Twitter workforce.
Following the announcement by CZ, Twitter shares gained. The share was trading at $52.78 at the time of writing.