Last Thursday, Elon Musk finally completed the $44 billion purchase of Twitter after several months of disagreement between the parties involved in the deal. Mr Elon Musk’s complete takeover of Twitter has ignited varying emotions amongst the platform users, from anxiety to hope, as niche experts (including crypto and advertising Twitter) watch to see what impact the multi-billionaire would have on their industries.
Why it matters
Elon Musk has over the years exhibited signs of a complicated interest with crypto, as he embraced it in one minute and belittled it in the next. This, however, has not limited the industry from dreaming of the expansion of Twitter’s blockchain features under Elon Musk’s management, in which crypto could broaden further adoption.
- Elon Musk initially allowed customers to purchase Tesla’s electric vehicles through bitcoin. But two months later suspended the payment method, citing bitcoin’s environmental impact as a reason.
- The Tesla CEO also repeatedly publicized the “Dogecoin” which earned him the title of the “Dogefather.” At a live event in 2021, Elon Musk then called it “a hustle”, discrediting the crypto currency in the opinion of many.
State of play
Twitter under the management of former CEO Jack Dorsey, a formidable bitcoin expert, integrated cryptocurrencies to the platform by including a feature for Twitter users to receive tips in bitcoin, Twitter Crypto division and Bluesky, a decentralized social platform that is now an independent company. After his departure, Twitter introduced ether tipping, non-fungible token display pictures and USD coin stablecoin payments for a specific group of creators.
- In Mr. Musk Twitter acquisition fund raising, Binance, which committed $500 million to Musk’s payment deal in May 2022, is reportedly forming a team of experts focused on exploring how crypto could be useful to the social media company.
- However, in a series of text messages released as part of proceedings in the Twitter deal, the Tesla CEO initially discussed using blockchain technology to promote free speech and reduce spam on the social media platform, only to later revert to “blockchain Twitter isn’t possible”.
The big picture
At this point, it is unclear what development would come to Twitter through the crypto industry under the management of Elon Musk. If he chooses to integrate crypto to the platform, a change such as a blockchain based identity verification tool to authenticate the humans on Twitter could be effective.