How Crypto Twitter Could Change Under Musk’s Leadership

by · October 5, 2022

Barring another change of heart and certain conditions to be met, Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter looks set to go ahead, raising the question of whether any or all of the changes he originally hinted at for the platform will become a reality.

The platform is a popular communication and news tool for crypto enthusiasts, users and investors, not to mention crypto scammers, with the social media platform seeing approximately 120,000 tweets per day about #Bitcoin alone, according to BitInfoCharts.

Looking back at Musk’s initial comment when he proposed a purchase of Twitter may shed some light on what changes he envisions for the platform.

This includes a focus on free speech, elimination of spam bots, fake accounts, an editing feature and possibly even crypto payments. considered and may still be on the agenda if the agreement goes through.

Spambots and fake accounts

One potential area of ​​focus is around Twitter’s alleged spambots.

During a TED talk in Vancouver in April, Musk said that if his offer to buy Twitter was successful, a “top priority” would be eliminating spam and scam bots from the platform, noting at the time:

“A top priority I would have is to eliminate the spam and scam bots and bot armies that are on Twitter.”

“They’re making the product much worse. If I had a Dogecoin for every crypto scam I saw, we’d have 100 billion Dogecoins,” he said.

He has proposed toppling them by “authenticating all humans,” even stating “we will defeat the spambots or die trying!”

Questions related to spam bots later became one of the main arguments Musk used to try to walk away from the deal.

Freedom of speech and Trump’s return?

Musk to begin with addressed his stance on free speech in a tweet back in April, saying at the time, “I hope that even my worst critics stay on Twitter, because that’s what free speech means.”

In the months since, he has not publicly changed his stance and elaborated on what it could mean for the platform, including a return of former US President Donald Trump, who was permanently banned from Twitter after the US capital on January 6, 2021. riots.

He tired in a May 13 tweet that while he thinks Trump probably shouldn’t run for president again because he’s “divisive,” Musk thinks he should be “restored to Twitter.”

Algorithm published

Musk has also thought about making Twitter’s algorithm available to the public, even creates a poll that ultimately saw over one million votes and had 82% of respondents saying “Yes” to the proposal.

It’s not entirely clear what Musk has in mind, but it could mean leaving the software open to public inspection and allowing users to read the code, use it for their applications, and suggest changes to how it works.

Other ideas

Other ideas have either disappeared or have already been implemented, such as plans to use blockchain technology and to charge 0.1 Dogecoin (DOGE) per tweet or retweet, which Musk later said would not be feasible.

Related: Musk’s deal for Twitter appears to go with the original price tag of $44B

Musk also had the idea of ​​adding an edit button and long tweets. However, Twitter may have beaten him to the punch with the edit button after the platform recently revealed that option.

The crypto community continues to be divided on whether the move will be a positive move for the platform, but others have taken to poking fun at the whole situation.

Twitter appears to be accepting the terms of the deal, announcing in a Twitter post on Oct. 4 that it intends to close the transaction at $54.20 per share.