Good day and welcome to WSJ Pro Bankruptcy's Daily Briefing. It's Wednesday, Nov. 9. The crypto world was stunned to watch a leading exchange, FTX, collapse into the arms of its rival Binance, fueling further doubts about digital currencies and the industry around them.

Elsewhere, a distressed Chinese property firm sold a Los Angeles apartment tower at a steep loss. And concerns about inflation were a big factor in the midterm elections. 

FTX sale to Binance upends crypto world. Cryptocurrency exchange FTX, months after looking like a shining survivor in a struggling industry, succumbed to a sudden liquidity crunch of its own and agreed to be taken over by rival Binance.

The deal signals a power shift in the crypto world and a humbling comedown for Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of FTX, which had been growing in size and recognition before a series of events that shook investor confidence in his firm. Its users pulled money and cryptocurrency out of their accounts en masse, prompting worries by remaining investors that they could be caught out.

Binance then stepped in, citing "a significant liquidity crunch" at FTX and calling to mind the string of crypto-firm collapses earlier this year. FTX, valued at $32 billion in a funding round in January, is by far the biggest to stumble.

The failure of another of the industry's leading firms is another blow to the credibility of the crypto ecosystem. And there are major unresolved questions, including whether Binance founder Changpeng Zhao will follow through on its nonbinding letter of intent with FTX. 

• Here's our primer. What to know about the Binance-FTX deal.
   
• Biggest crypto exchange to get bigger. The acquisition of FTX further consolidates the cryptocurrency world, with Binance emerging as the unquestioned giant. It has no head office or formal address, and until recently, its founder wouldn’t answer questions about his physical location. Its business and compliance practices have also attracted the attention of regulators. 
   
• FTX customers to get their money — possibly. The deal with Binance was probably the best news that FTX customers could get, opening a path to moving their assets to Binance's balance sheet.
   
• What is FTX's founder worth? He was widely considered one of the richest men in the world. Now cryptophiles are wondering if Mr. Bankman-Fried is decidely less rich. Much of his wealth is concentrated in FTX and Alameda Research, the crypto trading firm he founded.
   
• Rough day for cryptocurrencies. A broad selloff swept cryptocurrencies and publicly traded companies tied to digital assets. Investors worried that the liquidity crunch at FTX would ripple through cryptocurrencies and the broader market.

Distressed Chinese developer unloads Los Angeles tower. A major Chinese developer disposed of the tallest rental apartment tower in downtown Los Angeles at a steep loss, the latest in a recent wave of Chinese investors unloading prized U.S. real-estate assets.

The U.S. subsidiary of China’s Greenland Holding Group sold the 59-story apartment skyscraper for $504 million, according to the buyer, privately held apartment owner Northland. That was a record for a single rental property in Los Angeles, but it was still far less than Greenland had initially hoped to get.

Midterm electorate deeply troubled by inflation, America's direction. The highest inflation in four decades was a dominant issue in the midterm election, with roughly half of the electorate saying it was the single most important factor in determining their vote, according to a national survey. When combined with those who saw inflation as an important factor, but not the single most important one, roughly 9 in 10 voters identified rising prices as a significant consideration in their decision making.

On-demand manufacturer's SPAC merger ends in bankruptcy. Fast Radius Inc., an on-demand manufacturer of metal and plastic parts, has filed for bankruptcy nine months after going public through a merger with a blank-check company.

Shares of Chicago-based Fast Radius had been plummeting since Fast Radius was listed through a deal with a special-purpose acquisition company valuing it at $1.4 billion in February.

Lou Rassey, Fast Radius’s co-founder, chairman and chief executive, said in a sworn declaration that his company had hoped to raise as much as $445 million through the SPAC transaction, but raised only $106 million.

The company, backed by investors including United Parcel Service, said its online platform can help engineers design a product, compare materials and pick the right manufacturing approach. Fast Radius laid off workers in June due to bringing in less funding than expected.

Petters Ponzi trustee nets $564 million verdict against bank. A federal jury ordered BMO Harris Bank NA to pay $564 million for a predecessor bank's alleged role in the Ponzi scheme perpetrated by convicted fraudster Thomas Petters.

The Minnesota jury found in favor of a bankruptcy trustee who sued to hold M&I Bank, now owned by BMO Harris, responsible for allegedly enabling the Minnesota businessman to orchestrate a $3.7 billion Ponzi scheme.

Mr. Petters, whose business empire once encompassed Polaroid and Sun Country Airlines, told investors their money would finance his companies' purchase of electronic equipment. Instead, Mr. Petters used the money to fund his other business ventures or to line his pockets and those of his associates. He banked with a Minnesota branch of M&I from 2002 to 2008.

BMO Harris parent BMO Financial Group said it is confident it has strong grounds to appeal the jury's verdict and denies that it facilitated the Ponzi scheme. — Andrew Scurria

Government lawyers oppose Bang Energy loan. The Justice Department's bankruptcy watchdog is opposing an attempt by the maker of Bang energy drinks and its lenders to roll up roughly $354 million in debt into a new bankruptcy loan.

The dispute concerns $454.7 million in financing for Bang maker Vital Pharmaceuticals Inc. to provide the company with $100 million in new money in exchange for rolling up existing debt into a top-ranking loan.

The Office of the U.S. Trustee, part of the Justice Department, said in an objection Monday the roll-up includes other protections which go too far in favoring VPX's lenders. If the lenders were under the impression the bankruptcy code affords them the array of rights described in the proposed financing "they need to address their concerns with Congress—not a bankruptcy judge," the U.S. Trustee said. — Jonathan Randles

Private-equity giants are latest targets of SEC record-keeping probes. Apollo Global Management, KKR and Carlyle disclosed that they face investigations over whether their employees used messaging apps such as WhatsApp to do business. They are the most prominent asset-management firms so far to reveal their exposure to a regulatory sweep that examines compliance with record-keeping rules.

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