Elon Musk buys Twitter for $44B — crypto industry reacts

cointelegraph.com:

In the hours and days before Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s purchase of social media giant Twitter, discussions on free speech were common among many online users both in and out of the crypto industry.

Twitter announced on Monday that it will become a privately held company following its board of directors accepting a bid from Musk to purchase the firm’s stock for $54.20 per share in cash — roughly $44 billion. Though the transaction is expected to close in 2022, it is still subject to the approval of Twitter stockholders as well as certain regulators.

In one of his last tweets prior to news of the purchase becoming public, Musk said “I hope that even my worst critics remain on Twitter, because that is what free speech means.” Twitter quoted the Tesla CEO saying “free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square.”

Many, however, seemed to view the multi-billion dollar purchase as potentially having the opposite result. Angelo Carusone, president of nonprofit media watchdog Media Matters for America, expressed concerns prior to the announcement that Twitter agreeing to the sale “would be a victory for disinformation and the people who peddle it,” suggesting that Musk might unilaterally decide to allow those banned from the platform for inciting violence back on.

.@GoAngelo: "A sale to #ElonMusk without any conditions will pollute the entire information ecosystem by opening the floodgate of hate and lies. #Twitter's board needs to take this into account now before the deal is done." https://t.co/WBoEr1p9Lb

Jackson Palmer, the co-creator of the meme-based token Dogecoin (DOGE), which Musk has often pushed on the social media platform, called the acquisition a “hostile takeover” antithetical