According to blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis, the funds transferred from cryptocurrency exchange FTX are currently being converted from ETH to Bitcoin. On November 20, Chainalysis took to Twitter to encourage exchanges to freeze these coins, if remitters try to convert them into Fiat or further obfuscate 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
In the midst of FTX’s controversial collapse and bankruptcy, news broke that an unknown person had stolen 228,523 ETH from the exchange. Ownership of these coins, worth a whopping $268,057,479 at the time of writing, ranks the entity as one of the largest ETH holders 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 prepped 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
Although initial reports suggested that all of the funds in question may be under the supervision of the Bahamas securities regulator, however, Chainalysis poured a cold water on this theory, stating:
Reports that the money stolen from FTX were actually sent to the Bahamas Securities Commission are incorrect. Some of the money was stolen and other funds were sent to regulators.
At the time of writing, around 31,000 ETH have been converted into wrapped BTC. The owner then swapped the money to Bitcoin using Ren Protocol, with the final amount received being 2444.55 BTC.
LIVE: FTX Drainer (Aka Bahamas Gov?) Liquidating ETH
Addy #1 – 0x59 Addy #2 – 0x86 Flow So Far – Move $ETH from #1 to #2 – Swap $ETH for $renBTC – Send it to NULL Addy Update – 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
Meanwhile, Sam Bankman-Fried is said to remain “under surveillance” in the Bahamas, although some fear he could seek to flee to Dubai if given the chance.It is unclear how this situation will play out in the end, as the UAE and the United States have agreements on evidence sharing, judicial cooperation, and assistance in criminal investigations and prosecutions. At the time of writing, the price of ETH is trading at $1,142, down nearly 7% on the day.
