Forbes reports that there has been “a shocking run on billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX cryptocurrency exchange,” which is “one of the most trusted and foremost institutions of the crypto industry.” Bitcoin fell by 11% on Nov. 8, for a cumulative 75% loss from its November 2021 peak of $68,000.
What has “the market” particularly worried, Forbes explains, is that “the 30-year-old Bankman-Fried had previously been a massive stabilizing force in the industry, with his FTX extending $650 million to embattled crypto lender BlockFi in July, entering an agreement to acquire the company, and offered a $200 million credit line to Voyager Digital in June.” In other words, the bailer-outer in the crypto world now seems to be going belly-up itself. Is nothing sacred anymore?
Oh, yes. Forbes notes that “Bankman-Fried donated $39.9 million to Democratic causes ahead of Tuesday’s midterm elections, placing him among the 10 largest individual political donors in the country.”
