Crypto giant FTX ‘investigates abnormalities’ after bankruptcy
Officials at crypto giant FTX have moved all digital assets offline while they investigate possible theft of crypto assets following their bankruptcy filing, their general counsel announced late Friday.
The crypto giant “initiated precautionary steps to move all digital assets into cold storage” on Friday, according to a tweet from Ryne Miller, general counsel for FTX, who added that “the process was expedited tonight – to reduce harm from observing unauthorized transactions.”
It followed an earlier tweet from Miller that said officials were “investigating abnormalities with wallet movements related to consolidation of ftx balances across exchanges – unclear facts as other movements are not clear.”
“Will share more information as soon as we have it,” he added.
Blockchain analytics firm Elliptic said about $473 million in crypto assets were “moved out of FTX wallets under suspicious circumstances early this morning,” but it could not confirm that the tokens were stolen.
Before Miller’s tweets, FTX officials appeared to confirm rumors of a hack on the firm’s Telegram channel, according to a CoinDesk report that said the exchange had instructed customers to delete FTX apps and avoid the site.
“FTX has been hacked,” an account administrator in the FTX Support Telegram channel wrote in a message, according to CoinDesk.
Reuters could not immediately confirm the details posted on FTX’s private Telegram channel.
The ailing crypto trading platform had been struggling to raise billions to stave off collapse as traders pulled $6 billion in crypto tokens from the platform in just 72 hours and rival exchange Binance abandoned a proposed rescue deal this week.
The announcement followed news that FTX and its affiliates have begun the process of filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, with founder Sam Bankman-Fried stepping down as CEO.
The filing represents a staggering turnaround for the cryptocurrency exchange, once reportedly valued at $32 billion and seen as the face of the industry thanks to its extensive marketing and advertising efforts.
The dismissal of Bankman-Fried, 30, is amazing. He was a crypto underdog who graced the covers of Forbes and Fortune and had emerged as a major Democratic donor and leader of what has been called the “effective altruism” movement, which sought to reshape philanthropy.
FTX emerged as one of the most recognizable brands in the recent crypto boom, with sponsorship deals putting its logo on the Miami Heat arena and on the shirts of every MLB umpire.
On Friday, the Miami Heat, in a joint statement with Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, called the news of FTX’s collapse “extremely disappointing” and said they would immediately end their relationship with the company and find a new name for the company. arena.
Founded in 2019, within two years FTX had grown to 1 million worldwide users, with an average of $10 billion in daily trading volume. By 2021, it attracted $900 million in funding from major venture capitalists and hedge funds, including SoftBank Group and Sequoia Capital.
