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Anonymous hackers from the now-defunct exchange FTX have been transferring significant amounts of assets that were stolen from the platform, with new transactions surfacing just as the trial of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried commences.
As reported by the blockchain analytics firm Elliptic on Oct. 12, approximately 72,500 Ether (ETH) of stolen assets from FTX has been activated for the first time since the exchange was compromised in November 2022.
Elliptic stated that the perpetrator has exchanged $120 million worth of ETH into Bitcoin (BTC) via the multichain decentralized exchange (DEX) THORSwap since Sept. 30, 2023.
The initial conversion transactions occurred just days prior to the start of Bankman-Fried’s trial on Oct. 3. At the time of the breach, the converted amount was valued at $87 million, representing 18% of the total stolen funds amounting to $477 million.
The FTX hacker utilized a laundering method similar to that employed in November 2022, when the hacker converted 65,000 ETH ($100 million) to BTC using the cross-chain bridge RenBridge.
“The 180,000 ETH that was not converted to Bitcoin through RenBridge remained inactive until the early hours of Sep. 30, 2023 — by which time it was valued at $300 million,” Elliptic noted in the recent report.
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Daily number of transactions involving FTX stolen assets. Source: Elliptic
Elliptic highlighted that the FTX hacker incurred a loss of $94 million in the days following the breach as the attacker hurried to launder the funds through decentralized exchanges, cross-chain bridges, and mixers.
Related: FTX hacker could be using SBF trial as a smokescreen: CertiK
Nearly a year after the breach, the identity of the FTX thief remains unidentified, according to Elliptic. The blockchain analytics firm proposed three potential suspects for the FTX theft: an internal FTX operation, North Korea’s Lazarus Group, and criminal organizations linked to Russia.
“Some FTX employees would have had access to the company’s crypto assets for operational purposes. Amid the turmoil surrounding the firm’s bankruptcy and collapse, it may have been feasible for an internal actor to misappropriate these assets,” the report from Elliptic states.
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