Sam Bankman-Fried, the CEO of crypto exchange FTX and considered the Democrats’ “newest megadonor” ahead of the 2022 midterm elections, reportedly saw around $6 billion of withdrawals within 72 hours before Tuesday morning, forcing him to sell the company to its biggest rival on Election Day. 

Reuters reported that Changpeng Zhao, the leader of competitor Binance, said the company signed a nonbinding agreement on Tuesday to buy FTX’s non-U.S. unit to help cover a “liquidity crunch” at the rival exchange. The stunning bailout came about as American voters simultaneously went to the polls. 

“This is a truly crazy event in startup world. Dot-com bust level event,” tech reporter Eric Newcomer tweeted of the sale. 

Bankman-Fried, 30, was the second-biggest individual Democratic donor this election cycle behind top-ranking liberal billionaire contributor George Soros. He ranked sixth on the overall list of individual donors for the 2022 midterms regarding federal contributions. 

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