Binance has invested $200 million in Forbes. Why is this important for the cryptocurrency world?
The largest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance, has invested $200 million in the legendary Forbes publication. The investment was disclosed this week. Under the terms of the deal, Binance became one of Forbes’ two largest owners and won two of the nine seats on its board of directors. The whole plan was part of Forbes’ ambition to merge with SPAC Magnum Opus Acquisition Limited, followed by the listing of the news publication’s shares under the ticker FRBS on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). Here is a more detailed account of what is happening.
It is important to note that a year and a half ago Binance representatives sued Forbes. The reason for the lawsuit was an article about the cryptocurrency platform's activity in the United States. Its management allegedly diverted the attention of US financial regulators and continued to serve local residents, although it had no right to do so. The lawsuit was filed in November 2020.
However, the suit was withdrawn as early as February 2021. The withdrawal was voluntary and the reasons for it were not disclosed. And that’s strange enough, because before that Binance employees had claimed “millions of dollars in damages” that arose because of the publication. Read more about the story in a separate piece.
What Binance is investing in
Forbes CEO Mike Ferdele commented on the investment. Here is his quote from a Decrypt publication in which the expert shared his vision of what is happening.
Thanks to Binance’s investment in Forbes, we now have the expertise, network and resources of the world’s leading cryptocurrency exchange and one of the most successful blockchain innovators.
Binance CEO Changpen Zhao on the cover of Forbes
The $200 million investment is another clear sign of the growing popularity of lobbying by major cryptocurrency platforms for their interests. As a reminder, major exchanges like Binance and FTX are actively sponsoring sporting events and buying startups and firms even outside of the crypto market.
Binance chief executive Changpen Zhao commented on the event. Here is his quote from Twitter.
Cryptocurrencies are no longer just a niche vertical industry. It is a base layer that finances many other industries.
In later comments, Chanpen noted that “the independence of Forbes’ editorial policy will remain sacrosanct”, meaning that Binance has no plans to influence what it publishes. That said, the exchange’s investment should help Forbes “build a Web3 infrastructure in the coming years”.
Changpen Zhao, chief executive of Binance
Twitter’s senior management, led by new CEO Parag Agrawal, who took over from Jack Dorsey in November last year, is also among the vocal supporters of blockchain-based technology. In a recent investor pitch, Agrawal said that Web3 is going through a boom phase and more and more developers are interested in the new trend.
Forbes previously mentioned FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried as one of the most successful young people under the age of 30
It’s important to note here that former CEO Jack Dorsey is a so-called Bitcoin-maximalist. That is, he has no perception of other blockchain projects and platforms apart from BTC. As such, he criticised the Web3 industry, and did so in tandem with Ilon Musk.
The main argument for criticism was that the new generation of the internet is supposedly a centralised niche like everything else. And it is all owned by venture capitalists, who invest in projects before anyone else. You can read more about this at the link.
We believe that Binance's investment was indeed an important development for the entire cryptocurrency world. In this way, the platform has shown that new generation companies are quite capable of funding world-renowned giants, and the digital asset industry is a serious niche with billions of dollars in turnover. It is to be hoped that the crypto niche will now be noticed by those who have not yet done so.
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