A crypto exchange company that became one of the largest Democratic donors was sold Tuesday after seeing nearly $6 billion in withdrawals, according to Fox News.
FTX, owned by Sam Bankman-Fried, reported nearly $6 billion in withdrawals 72 hours before the Nov. 8 midterm elections and opted to sell the company to crypto rival Changpeng Zhao, owner of the crypto company Binance, according to Fox News. Zhao told Reuters that FTX signed a nonbonding agreement Tuesday hoping to cover a “liquidity crunch.” (RELATED: DOJ Announces Largest Seizure Of Cryptocurrency Assets Ever)
“This is a truly crazy event in the startup world. Dot-com bust level event,” tech reporter Eric Newcomer tweeted regarding the sale.
Bankman-Fried was the second largest Democratic donor in the 2022 election cycle, contributing $39,826,856 to campaigns, according to Fox News. He donated $36,793,956 to Democratic candidates and $235,200 to Republican candidates.
In 2020, Bankman-Fried donated $10 million to President Joe Biden’s campaigns and stated he could spend anywhere from $100 million to $1 billion in the 2024 election, according to Fox News. Bankman-Fried later retracted his statement in October, saying it “was a dumb quote on my part.”
Here’s the 30 second summary of the FTX drama that is blowing up in crypto.
1/ How FTX (a multi billion dollar co) almost died overnight
2/ And why this is a god tier strategic move by @cz_binance
— Shaan Puri (@ShaanVP) November 8, 2022
Bankman-Fried’s net worth of $16 billion was “eviscerated” in days, according to Bloomberg. The crypto exchange co-founder is currently “on the brink of a 94% wealth wipeout,” following the deal with Zhao.
“Crypto has a way of humbling people who swagger too heavily,” Consumer Choice Center (CCC) cryptocurrency watchdog Yaël Ossowski told The Washington Free Beacon. “The days of Sam Bankman-Fried being a heavyweight Democratic fundraiser and political influencer to the benefit of his own exchange and his connected companies, are basically over.”
FTX did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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