During the night from Friday to Saturday, several wallets belonging to FTX were quickly emptied. This article aims to take stock of a particularly significant piracy for the entire ecosystem. At a time when the blockchain sector must set an example, the image sent back to the regulator is deteriorating.
A heavy toll
The entire pirate was covered by contributor. The unauthorized transactions taking place throughout the night appear to be winding up, at the time of writing, in the evaporation of hundreds of millions of USD. Yet, only a few days ago, FTX was considered a trusted source. The group was valued at 32 billion, a whale of the crypto world. The platform was still considered the second largest exchange in the world after Binance.
As a result, cryptocurrency analytics firm Elliptic notes in an analysis published Saturday that “ in just 24 hours […] after filing for bankruptcy, FTX’s wallet was drained of more than $663 million“. Elliptic adds that “ $477 million will be stolen and the rest will be moved to secure storage by FTX“. On Friday, John Ray replaced Sam Bankman-Fried. The new boss clarified that “in response, an active investigation into the facts […] was launched immediately“.
The practical consequences of this hack
The group is now under investigation by the New York Securities and Exchange Commission and the Department of Justice, according to the New York Times, citing sources familiar with the investigation. The disgrace also extends to the NBA. Indeed, the famous club the Miami Heat announce that its stadium, FTX Arena, will be renamed. FTX’s setback was also compounded by industry leader Binance. He first announced on Sunday that he would sell cryptocurrencies linked to the FTX group before offering to buy FTX. com this Tuesday. Finally, the company pulled out on Wednesday upon seeing FTX’s financial statement.
As a result, several people felt that this is not a hack but an attempt to transfer these funds. For example, Scott Lewis, founder of DeFi Pulse, said when speaking to investors: If you think FTX is being hacked right now, you should consider quitting the crypto. You’re too nice and gullible for this industry“.
FTX’s headquarters are located in the Bahamas. However, this Thursday, the Bahamas Securities Commission ordered the freezing of FTX’s assets. It has also assigned a liquidator to the company. So far, $3 billion in crypto has been stolen in 2022 by 125 different hacks, according to Chainalysis. Once the dust settles from the FTX drain, that figure will surpass the previous record high of $3.2 billion set last year.
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