‘To have freedom of money, you have to have freedom of speech’ — CZ

Binance co-founder and former CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao took the stage at Token2049 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), where he told the audience that his investment in social media platform X was aimed at protecting freedom of speech.

The former Binance executive joined a fireside panel with macroeconomic analyst Raoul Pal to discuss the rationale behind his2022 investment in Xand artificial intelligence. Zhao said:

“So, when we invested in Twitter back then, it was based on that philosophy,” Zhao continued.

The former Binance CEO alsocriticized Europe’s crypto policies, characterizing them as dead in the water compared to more pro-business jurisdictions like the United Arab Emirates (UAE), as he advocated for greater financial autonomy and personal liberties.

Related:CZ aims to teach 1 billion kids through Giggle Academy — Token2049

CZ sees potential in X, but issues persist

In October 2022, Zhao announced that crypto exchangeBinance had invested $500 millionintoElon Musk’s takeover of Twitter, now known as X.

The crypto exchange was one of 19 co-investors in the deal, which also included firms such as Sequoia Capital Fund and Fidelity Management.

At the time of the investment, the former Binance CEO said that while “the platform has huge value, in itself,” itfaced several issues, including monetization problems, spam bots, development issues, and scam accounts targeting users with the goal of stealing funds.

Zhaourged Elon Musk to ban bots on Xin March, a problem that persists on the platform, particularly impacting the cryptocurrency community on the platform to promote fake tokens, scam users, or spam the site with promotional content.

Despite these issues, Zhao expressed hope that Binance could help the social media site integrate into Web3 by facilitating crypto payments in the near future.

Magazine:‘China’s MicroStrategy’ Meitu sells all its Bitcoin and Ethereum: Asia Express

Explore more articles like this

Subscribe to our Crypto Biz newsletter

Weekly snapshot of key business trends in blockchain and crypto, from startup buzz to regulatory shifts. Gain valuable insights to navigate the market and spot financial opportunities. Delivered every Thursday

By subscribing, you agree to ourTerms of Services and Privacy Policy