Administrators of the FTX community’s Telegram group said the platform was hacked and all funds from the exchange appeared to have disappeared. FTX’s US General Counsel Ryne Miller, who allegedly pinned the post in the group, explained that he was investigating “anomaliesregarding FTX balances on other exchanges.
FTX officials say they were hacked on Telegram
An administrator of the now-closed FTX community’s Telegram group reported that the exchange suffered a hacking attempt on Nov. 12. The post, which was pinned by FTX’s US General Counsel Ryne Miller, informed of an ongoing hack and recommended customers not to use FTX apps, warning that they could also be compromised.
Official: FTX has been hacked.
Source: admin of FTX Community Chat pic.twitter.com/IukG4ekWhO— 0xTre (@0xTre) November 12, 2022
The administrator, identified as Rey, wrote to:
FTX has been hacked. FTX apps are malware. Delete them. The chat is open. Do not go to the FTX site as it may download Trojans.
Several users on social media have reported having their wallets in the exchange have been drained of their funds, and seeing the exchanges of their tokens by stablecoins like Dai onchain. Martin Lee of Nansen observed ” massive withdrawals to the same wallet “, which the exchange had not previously been informed of.
Advocate General Sees Anomalies, Onchain Funds Blocked by Tether
Investigating abnormalities with wallet movements related to consolidation of ftx balances across exchanges – unclear facts as other movements not clear. Will share more info as soon as we have it. @FTX_Official
—Ryne Miller (@_Ryne_Miller) November 12, 2022
While FTX’s usual communication channels remained silent on the matter, Ryne Miller, FTX’s US chief legal officer, said he reviewed these transactions earlier in the evening. Miller tweeted:
We are investigating anomalies in wallet movements related to consolidation of fx balances on the various exchanges – facts are unclear as other movements are unclear. We will share more information as soon as we have it.
Funds that have been withdrawn in the form of USDT in different chains have been blocked by Tether, according according to reports. More than 30 million USDT was involved in this move.
Following the Chapter 11 bankruptcy filings – FTX US and FTX [dot] com initiated precautionary steps to move all digital assets to cold storage. Process was expedited this evening unauthorized – to mitigate damage upon observing transactions.
—Ryne Miller (@_Ryne_Miller) November 12, 2022
Miller also said the exchange is now moving remaining funds to cold wallets to preserve remaining capital after an investigation into these “unauthorized transactions.” He said:
Following the Chapter 11 bankruptcy filings – FTX US and FTX.com took precautionary steps to move all digital assets to cold storage. The process was accelerated tonight – to mitigate the damage caused by the observation of unauthorized transactions.
According to a Reuters article, former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried set up a backdoor in FTX’s system. “Upon subsequent review, FTX’s legal and finance teams also learned that Mr. Bankman-Fried had implemented what the two people described as a ‘backdoor’ into FTX’s accounting system, which was built using bespoke software,” reports Reuters.
The outlet also spoke with Bankman-Fried via text, and Reuters said Bankman-Fried denied any existence of a backdoor. The exchange filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on November 11. The story is still in development as the fundraising continues at the time of writing.