Binance said Tuesday it has signed a letter of intent to acquire FTX, delivering a surprising twist following a public spat between the world’s two largest crypto exchanges that contributed to several digital tokens taking a tumble Tuesday. The firms didn’t disclose the value of the deal, which is non-binding and pending the due diligence process.

The deal follows Binance founder Changpeng Zhao and FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried’s months-long clash on social media, which escalated earlier this week.

Zhao (pictured above) said Binance reached the decision after FTX asked the crypto behemoth for help. “To protect users, we signed a non-binding LOI, intending to fully acquire FTX and help cover the liquidity crunch. We will be conducting a full DD in the coming days,” he said in a tweet.

Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, is the first investor that backed FTX, but as the younger firm grew in popularity, the relationship between the two started to wither.

The two billionaires have been hurling snarky remarks at each other for several months, but the relationship hit an all-time low earlier this week after Zhao said that Binance was selling its holding of FTT, the native token of FTX exchange, that it had received as part of an exit from the firm last year.

Zhao said the firm was liquidating its FTT holdings as a “post-exit risk management,” giving some credence to a widely-circulated rumor about Alameda Research’s concerning financial health.

Bankman-Fried founded the prop trading and market making firm Alameda, which has some exposure to the FTT tokens. FTT token slid to as low as $14.32 from $25.47 earlier on Tuesday as investors lost faith, according to Binance’s trading view. In a note to clients earlier Tuesday, research firm Bernstein suggested that FTX should consider shutting down Alameda due to the perceived risks.