Elon Musk has overhauled X including changing its name from Twitter since his purchase in 2022
Who are the companies and people that helped Elon Musk secure the funds needed for his Twitter buyout in 2022? AFP

KEY POINTS

  • Among the most notable shareholders in the list is Prince Alwaleed bin Talal al Saud of Saudi Arabia
  • Funds under Andreessen Horowitz, Fidelity, and ARK Invest are also listed as shareholders
  • Notably, a subsidiary of crypto exchange giant Binance is also included in the list

The world watched the chaotic takeover of Twitter (now called X) late in 2022 as tech magnate Elon Musk went back-and-forth with the social media platform before he finally became its owner. An unsealed court document listed the "owners/shareholders" of X Holdings Corp., and some of them are key figures and entities in the cryptocurrency realm.

Journalist takes bold step

The list of shareholders that X furnished to the court after Musk took over Twitter was sealed but lawyers for journalism nonprofit Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press (RCFP) filed a motion in July – on behalf of journalist Jacob Silverman – to unseal the documents, noting that Silverman believes "common law" requires that the public be allowed access to corporate disclosure statements. The court granted Silverman's motion Wednesday.

The court has since made X's corporate disclosure documents publicly available, revealing nearly a hundred investors, including Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal al Saud.

List unveils some crypto figures are X shareholders

As per the unsealed filing, the following entities and individuals are among the "owners/shareholders" of X:

  • Andreessen Horowitz LSV Fund III, L.P.

The said late stage fund is managed by venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z). The venture capital company is known for having invested heavily in crypto, and co-founder Marc Andreessen is a cryptocurrency advocate.

  • ARK Venture Fund

This closed-end interval fund is managed by global asset manager ARK Invest, which co-launched a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), $ARKB, with crypto firm 21Shares.

  • Binance Capital Management Co., Ltd

The British Islands-based company is a subsidiary of crypto exchange giant Binance.

  • Some entities under Fidelity Investments

The Boston-based asset manager has dabbled in the crypto industry through its spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), $FBTC, which has gained popularity among institutional investors in recent months.

  • Ross Gerber

A renowned Tesla bull, Gerber is the CEO of wealth management firm Gerber Kawasaki, which announced in 2021 that it would offer crypto exposure to clients through crypto exchange Gemini.

  • Scott Nolan

Nolan is a partner at Founders Fund, which has reportedly been investing millions in Bitcoin and Ether.

  • Sequoia Capital

The Silicon Valley venture firm allocated up to $600 million for a crypto fund in 2022.

  • Jack Dorsey

Dorsey, the former CEO of Twitter, is a prominent Bitcoin advocate. He recently said the world's top digital asset by market cap can "complement or replace" the U.S. dollar within 15 years.

Musk's ties with crypto

The SpaceX founder, who said late in 2020 that "Bitcoin is almost as bs as fiat money," recently acknowledged that there is "some merit" in the world's first decentralized cryptocurrency.

He also said he will only promote crypto "at most in a joking way," but he did say he has a "soft spot" for Dogecoin ($DOGE), the largest memecoin in the market.

Data compiled and published by prominent pseudonymous trader HODL15Capital in June showed that Musk owns 208 Bitcoins worth around $12.6 million based on current prices.

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