Binance says it will buy FTX after smaller rival stumbles through 'liquidity crunch'

TechCrunch Newsletter [TechCrunch logo]( [The Daily Crunch logo]( By [Christine Hall]( and [Haje Jan Kamps]( Tuesday, November 08, 2022 Today, we’ve been learning about what the hell a Mastodon even is, so the timing of [Amanda](’s piece [‘A beginner’s guide to Mastodon](’ is all sorts of perfect. Give it a read, and come find us on Mastodon after. If you can — that’s another challenge. We have faith in your cyberstalking skills, but here’s a hint: Both of us are on Mastodon.Social. — [Christine]( and [Haje](. [ image] Image Credits: Daniel Vaiman/Explore To Create The TechCrunch Top 3 - [This surprise was off the chain!](: In a surprise twist today, Binance announced its intent to acquire FTX in a move that will clear out some of the “liquidity crunches” that FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried tweeted about, [Manish]( reports. This comes after the two companies’ founders had a very public spat recently. (More on that in Big Tech Inc. below). - [Roll out](: Over in TechCrunch+ land, [Becca]( writes about what Peloton co-founder John Foley has been doing. Apparently, he “is a rug guy now.” Also, as Becca points out, his new company, Ernesta, is another example of VCs investing in people they knew, even if their last company flailed some. - [A list that changes every day](: Hey, fellow Twitter users, are you on Team Verify or Team Leave My Stuff Alone? Either way, [Ivan]( has a list of features Elon Musk has promised to bring to Twitter. [The Forrester Total Economic Impact™ Study of DigitalOcean]( Sponsored by [DigitalOcean]( [According to a recent study from Forrester, businesses that use DigitalOcean can see a 186% ROI over three years with cloud hosting costs of up to 50% less than other big-name cloud providers. Read the study for more insights.]( [Download Here]( Startups and VC Though finance technology startups are having a moment when it comes to decreased venture capital deals and layoffs, Quona Capital, a venture capital firm that invests in emerging markets that accelerate financial inclusion, has found the appetite is still there for fintechs, [Christine]( reports. The firm had its [final close on $332 million in capital commitments for its Fund III](, which focuses on financial inclusion. Also from [Christine]( today (in addition to our resident Daily Crunch newsletter wrangler, she’s a post-writing machine!) is a piece about Doola, a company helping [global founders start a limited liability company in the United States](, even without a Social Security number. The company raised an $8 million round of funding, less than a year after it raised $3 million worth of seed funding. A handful more, because we love ya: - Security on cruise control: [Laika laps up $50 million for its automated security compliance platform](, [Ingrid]( reports. - Moar security on cruise control: Security automation startup [Veriti launches out of stealth](with an $18.5 million sack of cash to fuel it, [Kyle]( reports. - AI marketing videos are here: [Rita]( reports that Movio wants to make your [marketing videos with generative AI](. - YC sticking to its guns: Outgoing YC president Geoff Ralston told [Connie]( that [the market is changing, but YC’s terms are not](. - Finding startups in new ways: Gunning for the likes of PitchBook and Crunchbase, [Natasha M]( reports that [Harmonic helps investors query the startup searches of their wildest dreams](. [Here’s the rundown on the Binance and FTX fiasco]( Today we learned that the world’s largest crypto exchange is bailing out the world’s third-largest crypto exchange. But why? In a detailed explainer, Jacquelyn Melinek wrote about how a CoinDesk report last Thursday on crypto trading firm Alameda Research led Binance to liquidate a mountain of tokens that backed many of Alameda’s loans. Three more from the TC+ team: - Chasing clouds: [Alex]( has a piece about startup CEOs having opinions on [picking cloud providers](. - First, ’tain the dollars. Then retain them: [Anna]( and [Alex]( explore[ what the right net dollar retention (NDR) target should be for SaaS startups](. - Unicornier and unicornier: [Matt Armanino]( has [worked with hundreds of unicorns, and he shares what founders and executives need to focus on](. [TechCrunch+]( is our membership program that helps founders and startup teams get ahead of the pack.[You can sign up here](. Use code “DC” for a 15% discount on an annual subscription! [Read More]( [Here’s the rundown on the Binance and FTX fiasco image] Image Credits: wenjin chen / Getty Images Big Tech Inc. As promised from above, [Jacquelyn]( dives deeper into some of the things going on at FTX, including that the [crypto exchanges withdrawals]( seemed to be sluggish. And that its potential new owner, Binance, was going to “slowly [withdraw billions of its holdings in FTX’s native token](, FTT.” Oh, you two! And we have five more for you: - Who’s got a new trivia game?: It’s Netflix! The streaming service is trying its hand at a new trivia game — remember its venture into “Trivia Quest”? The new one is [an interactive trivia experience called “Triviaverse](.”[Lauren]( has more. - Video, email, calendar:[Zoom is adding email and calendar]( to its features lineup, a move [Ron]( reports is its chosen avenue, for now, as the company looks to expand its offerings. - Stepping down:[Grab Financial leader Reuben Lai]( is planning to leave the company at the end of the year,[Catherine]( writes. - It’s a party, a third-party, that is: Third-party merchants in India can now have [Amazon-like logistics power]( thanks to the delivery giant opening it up to them,[Manish]( writes. - Don’t ever say you’re left out: European Union investigators now plan to [take an even deeper dive]( into Microsoft’s $68.7 billion bid to acquire Activision and what it could mean for competition,[Â]([Natasha L]( reports. [Read more stories on TechCrunch.com]( Newest Jobs from Crunchboard - [Market Systems Software Developer at Lower Colorado River Authority (Austin, TX, USA)]( - [Technology Support Technician at Town of Needham (Needham, MA, USA)]( - [Mobile/Web Developer (.Net) at Air Line Pilots Association (West McLean, VA 22103, USA)]( - [Director of Health Plan Strategy & Sales (New 911 Telehealth Technology) at MD Ally Technologies, Inc. (Anywhere)]( - [New Business Manager at Rock Paper Scissors, Inc (Bloomington, Indiana, USA)]( [See more jobs on CrunchBoard]( [Post your tech jobs]( and reach millions of TechCrunch readers for only $200 per month. [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Youtube]( [Instagram]( [Flipboard]( [View this email online in your browser]( [Privacy Policy]( | [Terms of Service]( | [Unsubscribe]( © 2022 Yahoo. All rights reserved. 110 5th St, San Francisco, CA 94103