According to blockchain analysis company Chainalysis, funds stolen from the FTX cryptocurrency exchange are now being converted from ETH to Bitcoin. On November 20, C.hainalysis took to Twitter to encourage exchanges to freeze these coins, in case the thief tried to convert them into fiat money or further obfuscate the assets through other means.
1/ Funds stolen from FTX are on the move and exchanges should be on high alert to freeze them if the hacker attempts to cash out
—Chainalysis (@chainalysis) November 20, 2022
1/ Stolen FTX funds are on the move and exchanges need to be on high alert to freeze them if the hacker tries to cash them out
In the midst of FTX’s controversial collapse and bankruptcy, it emerged that an unknown actor had stolen 228,523 ETH from the exchange. Ownership of these coins, worth $268,057,479 at press time, currently ranks the thief as one of the largest ETH owners in the world.
Update: FTX Hacker is now actively dumping ETH on-chain
He has dumped about $15 million ETH in the past 30 minutes and just prepared a fresh batch of $12 million
Still has $270m ETH in main wallet
He’s selling ETH to wBTC to renBTC through aggregators like 1inch https://t.co/mEd8UHFCO0
— kamikaz ΞTH (@kamikaz_ETH) November 20, 2022
Update: FTX Hacker Is Now Actively Selling ETH On-Chain
You have sold around $15 million of ETH in the last 30 minutes and have just prepared a new batch of $12 million
You still have $270 million worth of ETH in your main wallet
You are selling ETH to wBTC to renBTC through aggregators like 1inch
Although initial reports suggested that all of the funds in question might be in the custody of securities regulators in the Bahamas, Chainalysis threw cold water on this theory, stating:
“Reports that the stolen FTX funds were actually sent to the Bahamas Securities and Exchange Commission are incorrect. Some funds were stolen and other funds were sent to regulators.”
At press time, approximately 31,000 ETH had been converted to wrapped BTC. The thief then sent coins via the cross-chain to a Bitcoin mainnet wallet using the Ren Protocol, and the final amount received was 2444.55 BTC.
LIVE: FTX Drainer (Aka Bahamas Gov?) Liquidating ETH
Addy #1 – 0x59
Addy #2 – 0x86Flow So Far
-Move $ETH from #1 to #2
-Swap $ETH for $renBTC
-Send it to NULL Addyupdate
-Sold 31k $ETH for 2.2k $renBTC
– Sending all $renBTC to NULL Address (ETH Genesis Address)1/n pic.twitter.com/WfkXGsUDRq
—Garlam (@GarlamWON) November 20, 2022
It’s been a tough few weeks for those affected by the bankruptcy of FTX and its associated companies. Just today, a press release stated that FTX debtors are in talks with financial services firm Perella Weinberg Partners regarding various reorganization attempts. However, the hiring is subject to bankruptcy court approval.
Meanwhile, the founder of the company, Sam Bankman-Fried, reportedly remains “under supervision” in the Bahamas, though some fear he may try to flee to Dubai if he gets the chance. It is unclear how this situation would ultimately play out, given that the UAE and the US have an agreement on the sharing of evidence, judicial cooperation, and assistance in criminal investigations and prosecutions.
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