What to know about Evergande, the Chinese property developer dragging down global markets

As a payment deadline looms, Beijing isn't expected to facilitate a "bailout."

Debt issues plaguing Evergrande, one of China's largest real estate developers, have sent shock waves of anxiety throughout global financial markets.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average suffered its biggest single-day drop since July on Monday, and the index closed even lower Tuesday, with many analysts attributing the precipitous fall to the Evergrande saga emanating from the nation with the second-largest gross domestic product. Jitters related to Evergrande have also been linked to a slide in the cryptocurrency market, with Bitcoin trading 13% lower Tuesday evening compared to a week prior, as uncertainty drives investors away from riskier assets.

The Evergrande crisis has even been compared to the Lehman Brothers crash that is now synonymous with the onset of the Great Recession, though many economists have cautioned against panic and directly equating the two episodes. Still, there is a reason the embattled Chinese firm has become a household name on Main Street over the past few days, and Wall Street remains on high alert over what comes next as a repayment deadline looms on Thursday.

Here is what to know about the Evergrande debt crisis and its potential contagion to the global economy.