FTX crypto exchange is going through a difficult phase, as the exchange suffered another considerable loss a few hours ago. The exchange was attacked by a cyber-criminal, who transferred funds from the exchange’s wallet.
Hackers Divert Over $300 Million From FTX Wallet
In the early hours of Saturday, FTX suffered a cyberattack after its wallet was attacked, and $400 million was moved to an unknown wallet. Although, there are reports that the hacking incident was carried out with an insider’s help.
According to a cybersecurity firm, Arkham Intelligence, the hack was carried out successfully with an insider’s help. The hacker allegedly accessed the website and app private key and root level.
The details that were used to plant malware into the FTX website and application were confidential and could not be accessed easily. The hacking incident was made known by the crypto Telegram community manager, who alerted the exchange users of malware and hijacking. The manager advised all users to stay away and delete the FTX and website for the meantime.
Although the extent of the siphoned funds is not yet discovered, the funds range between $300 million to $600 million. The funds were transferred in bits into a wallet, which has received over 84,878.63 Ethereum
Upon discovery of the cyberattack, the remaining funds were moved to cold storage to prevent further loss. According to Arkham Intelligence, after the hackers transferred Ethereum to their wallets, it was swapped to USDT and DAI. The tokens were also transferred to different exchanges and ecosystems.
The Travails Of FTX Exchange
The past few days/weeks have been one of the worst moments of the FTX exchange since its inception. Starting from the banning of customer fund withdrawal and assets and signing an acquisition deal with a rival crypto exchange platform. Unfortunately, the deal was later canceled by Binance CEO Zhao Changpeng over alleged fraud charges and undergoing investigation by the SEC.
The exchange and an affiliated company, Alameda Research, were allegedly under investigation and close radar of the U.S. CFTC. The investigation had been ongoing for the past few months.
On the 12th of November, FTX filed for bankruptcy after losing millions of dollars in the Bitcoin crash below $16,000. The news generated mixed reactions as the exchange was at its lowest moment, recovering from its loss before the crash happened again.
Following the series of events, FTX native tokens have recorded massive dumps and sales of holding and investors in the past seven days. The token has continued to bear and dip. However, the situation escalated when FTX suspended withdrawals, giving hints of bankruptcy.
