Dogecoin (DOGE) surged on news that Twitter’s leadership planned to sell the social network to Elon Musk. Over the last 24 hours, the meme cryptocurrency rose 24.2%, according to CoinGecko.
By the evening of April 25, DOGE briefly traded at $0.17. The price has since corrected to around $0.15.
The sharp rally allowed Dogecoin to displace Polkadot from the 10th spot in the crypto-asset market-cap ranking.
According to the press release, Twitter’s leadership accepted Elon Musk’s bid to acquire the social network for about $44 billion. The Tesla chief will pay $54.2 per share — 38% above their price as of April 1, when Musk acquired 9.2% of the shares of the company.
The deal is expected to close by the end of 2022. After that, Twitter will become a private company. Shares will be traded only on the over-the-counter market.
To buy the social network, Musk allocated $21 billion from his own funds. Another $25.5 billion was provided to the entrepreneur by a group of banks led by Morgan Stanley.
Earlier, Twitter shifted its stance on the billionaire’s offer. A new round of talks followed the filing with the SEC documents showing financing of $46.5 billion.
Independent chairman of Twitter’s board, Bret Taylor, said the board had carefully considered the takeover and concluded that this is the best outcome for shareholders.
Commenting on the deal, Musk said he hopes his harshest critics will not leave the platform, “for that is what free speech means”.
I hope that even my worst critics remain on Twitter, because that is what free speech means
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 25, 2022
Musk also described Twitter as a “digital town square” where vital questions about humanity’s future are discussed.
🚀💫♥️ Yesss!!! ♥️💫🚀 pic.twitter.com/0T9HzUHuh6
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 25, 2022
“I want to make Twitter better than ever, with new features, open algorithms to increase trust, defeat spam bots, and authenticate all people. Twitter has enormous potential — I look forward to getting started with this company,” he wrote.
Twitter founder Jack Dorsey greeted the board’s decision. He stressed that Musk’s aim — to create “the most reliable and open platform” — is the right one, and aligns with the goals of the current head of the company, Parag Agrawal.
I’m so happy Twitter will continue to serve the public conversation. Around the world, and into the stars!
— jack⚡️ (@jack) April 26, 2022
“Thank you both for pulling the company out of a tight spot. This is the right path… I believe in it with all my heart. I am so happy that Twitter will continue to serve public discourse — around the world and to the stars!,” said Dorsey.
On April 14, the Tesla chief proposed to buy the social network for more than $43 billion. He described this as an intention to create an “inclusive arena for freedom of speech”, rather than a desire to make money.
Earlier, Ethereum cofounder Vitalik Buterin supported Musk’s Twitter takeover, but doubted the overall positive effect of moving the social-media platform into billionaire ownership.
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