Crypto exchange Binance abandoned its bid to rescue FTX on Wednesday this week, leaving the famed digital firm with an uncertain future as it faces a shortfall of up to $8 billion, according to people familiar with the matter.

FTX has told investors it hopes to raise up to $4 billion in equity to fill the shortfall, people familiar with the matter said.
The implosion of the Binance bailout deal has weighed on financial markets that were already reeling from uncertainty surrounding the outcome of the U.S. midterm elections. “At the outset, our hope was to be able to support FTX customers to provide liquidity, but the issues are beyond our control or ability to help,” Binance said in a statement.

FTX has told investors it hopes to raise up to $4 billion in equity to fill the shortfall, people familiar with the matter said.
The implosion of the Binance bailout deal has weighed on financial markets that were already reeling from uncertainty over the outcome of the U.S. midterm elections. The Nasdaq fell about 2.5 percent on Wednesday, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 fell about 2 percent.

Bitcoin, the largest and best-known cryptocurrency, fell about 16 percent, bringing its value below $16,000 for the first time since November 2020. It is currently down about 75% from its all-time high reached in November 2021.

In a letter to its investors late Wednesday night, Sequoia said it was writing off $150 million that one of its funds had invested in FTX due to “solvency risk” to the crypto company. “The full nature and extent of this risk is unknown at this time,” the letter said. “Based on our current understanding, we are reducing our investment to $0.”