In crypto circles, Parler is best known for launching an NFT marketplace — and its first collection featured images of then U.S. president Donald Trump.
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Kanye West has inked a deal to buy Parler, a "free speech" social network that played an instrumental role in arranging the Capitol riots.
It comes days after the U.S. rapper was criticized for an antisemetic post on Twitter — not long after he was welcomed back to the platform by Elon Musk. West, who is now known as Ye, said:
"In a world where conservative opinions are considered to be controversial, we have to make sure we have the right to freely express ourselves."
In crypto circles, Parler is best known for launching an NFT marketplace — and its first collection featured images of then U.S. president Donald Trump.
It's unknown how much West is paying for Parler, but it's fair to say that he had barely used the site before. In fact, the rapper only actually opened an account there on Monday.
And while Twitter has 237 million daily active users at the time of writing, Parler has a mere 137,000.
West has had a flurry of high-profile partnerships pulled under recent weeks — including one with the fashion retailer Gap.
Another deal with adidas is under strain after West unveiled a T-shirt that said "White Lives Matter" at Paris Fashion Week — a move that some critics have called "hugely irresponsible."
JPMorgan Chase has also ended its business relationship with West and his brand Yeezy, but this decision was apparently reached before his slew of recent controversies, which included sharing racist conspiracy theories in an interview that hasn't been broadcast.
Soon after the bank's decision became public knowledge, a photo of West wearing a Satoshi Nakamoto hat started doing the rounds — suggesting that he was interested in using Bitcoin as an alternative.
But some on Crypto Twitter suggested that an endorsement from West could ultimately do more harm than good, with one tweeting:
"This is the person you want representing your community?"
