US Launches Criminal Investigation Into $372M FTX Hack

The authorities of the U.S. have launched an investigation into the hack, that swept 372 million USD following the hack of the leading exchange FTX, as per reports by Bloomberg.

The hack took place on November 11, a few hours after FTX filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and continued till the early morning of November 12. Massive amounts of crypto were transferred from FTX and FTX U.S. wallets.

The team of Justice Department National Cryptocurrency Enforcement is currently investigating the matter in collaboration with the Manhattan authorities who handle the arrest of SBF in the Bahamas.

The conversion of coins after the hack

According to blockchain analytics company Elliptic, this was a tactic typically seen in massive attacks, as money stolen from FTX wallets was traded for Ethereum via decentralized exchanges.

On November 20, Chainalysis stated that the stolen cryptocurrency platform money was “on the move” and had crossed over from Ethereum to Bitcoin.

Also read: FTX, SBF Slammed With Class Action Lawsuit; Users Last Chance For Repayment?

Chainalysis also denied online allegations that the money was delivered to the Bahamas’ Securities and Exchange Commission.

It said,

“Reports that the funds stolen from FTX were sent to the Securities Commission of The Bahamas are incorrect. Some funds were stolen, and other funds were sent to the regulators, funds were bridged from ETH to BTC, likely to be mixed prior to a cash out attempt.”

FTX hack unfolding

What is supposed to be an hour after the hack, the General Counsel of FTX, Ryan Miller took to his Twitter and said that FTX was investigating abnormalities with wallet movements. Later, he took to Telegram to announce that FTX has been hacked.

“FTX has been hacked. FTX apps are malware. Delete them. Chat is open. Don’t go on the FTX site as it might download Trojans,”

wrote the Telegram channel of FTX.

It is still unclear, whether the FTX hack had someone’s hand from the firm or whether the implosion gave an opportunity for hackers to take over. The punishment for this hack can be imprisonment upto 10 years .