Why the CEO of the world's largest crypto exchange backed Musk's Twitter buyout

Binance's CEO and founder Changpeng Zhao made headlines outside his typical wheelhouse of web3 as an investor in Elon Musk's Twitter buyout. Zhao, who put in $500 million, told an audience at Web Summit in Lisbon, Portugal this week that he would consider joining the social media company's board if Musk asked him to do so.

But why is he eager to get involved with the messy process of running a social media company when that seemingly has little to do with crypto, Binance's core business? Essentially, what's in it for the exchange?

We attempted to answer that question on this Thursday's episode of Chain Reaction, where we unpack and explain the latest in crypto news, drama and trends, breaking things down block by block for the crypto curious.

You can listen to the full episode below:

On this episode, we also talked about:

• A string of troubles that have unfolded for various bitcoin mining companies over the past month, from Argo Blockchain to Core Scientific, and what it would take to unearth (ha ha, get it?) the sector from its woes.

• NFT marketplaces such as LooksRare and Magic Eden pulling the plug on creator royalties and how the decisions could affect web3 artists

Speaking of Zhao, he is one of the speakers set to join us at our upcoming crypto event in Miami on November 17, and we’ll be sure to ask him about his plans for Twitter. If you’re interested in hearing more, you can use the promo code REACT for 15% off a General Admission ticket to the event.

Chain Reaction comes out every Tuesday and Thursday at 12:00 p.m. PT, so be sure to subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite pod platform to keep up with the action.