|

Breaking: FTX exchange and FTX US allegedly hacked, uninstall app to protect against malware

  • FTX and FTX US wallets appear to be hacked, with over $600 million in assets leaving the exchange. 
  • FTX telegram group warned traders to uninstall FTX apps and avoid visiting the website as it may download malware and trojans to their devices. 
  • Galois Capital, a leading crypto hedge fund, admitted to having 50% of their holdings, $100 million, stuck on the FTX exchange. 

FTX US General Counsel Ryne Miller said that following chapter 11 bankruptcy filings- FTX US and FTX.com initiated preventive measures to move cryptocurrencies to cold storage. The process was expedited to mitigate damage from unauthorized transactions. 

Suspicious on-chain transactions worth $400 million drained funds from FTX mere hours ago, and experts on Twitter allege that updating the exchange’s app loads malware. 

Also read: Investigating Samuel Bankman-Fried’s FTX and Alameda implosion and Terra connection

FTX and FTX US hacked, millions of dollars in crypto flowing out of the exchange

Samuel Bankman-Fried’s cryptocurrency exchanges FTX and FTX US are targets of an ongoing hack. The General Counsel of FTX US confirmed to the Telegram group that there had been unauthorized transactions overnight, and the exchange has now moved assets to cold storage. 

An account administrator in the FTX Support Telegram chat wrote,

FTX has been hacked. FTX apps are malware. Delete them. Chat is open. Don't go on FTX site as it might download Trojans.

Counsel Miller pinned this message. FTX exchange has stated on its official Telegram channel that it has been hacked and instructed users not to install any new upgrades and delete all FTX apps. 

PeckShield Inc., a blockchain security company, labeled the address 0x59abf3837fa962d6853b4cc0a19513aa031fd32b as FTX accounts drainer. This wallet address bridged 10,000 ETH worth $12.6 million on Binance Smart Chain via Multichain. 

FTX attacker drained 10,000 ETH, bridged it to BSC

FTX attacker drained 10,000 ETH, bridged it to BSC

The attacker swapped 400 billion Shiba Inu tokens worth nearly $3 million to Ethereum. Less than an hour ago, the wallet swapped nearly $50 million worth of Paxos Gold (PAXG) to Ether.

400 billion Shiba Inu swapped to ETH

400 billion Shiba Inu swapped to ETH

USD Tether has blacklisted the FTX attacker’s USDT on Avalanche and Solana worth nearly $30 million. The attacker's address has drained most FTX wallets of their funds and currently holds $164.6 million worth of Ether tokens (130,283 ETH). 

The wallet address marked as the attacker has finished dumping Chainlink (LINK), Polygon (MATIC), AAVE, and Shiba Inu (SHIB) on-chain. Apart from Ethereum and DAI stablecoin, Paxos Gold (PAXG) and SNX will soon be sold off by the wallet. Funds have been moved to decentralized exchanges like 1inch. 

Many FTX wallet holders have reported $0 balances in their FTX.com and FTX US wallets. FTX’s API appears to be down, and the login portal was unavailable, giving users a 503 error. This error happens when a server is unavailable, commonly because it's down for maintenance. 

Hedge fund admits to losing 50% capital to FTX fallout

Galois Capital, the Hedge Fund famous for predicting the collapse of Terraform Labs LUNC (formerly LUNA) and UST, has admittedly lost 50% of its $100 million holdings to FTX collapse. 

Co-founder Kevin Zhou told investors through a YouTube video,

I am deeply sorry that we find ourselves in this current situation. We will work tirelessly to maximize our chances of recovering stuck capital by any means.

Zhou informed investors that it could take years to recover a percentage of stuck capital. 

Author

Ekta Mourya

Ekta Mourya

FXStreet

Ekta Mourya has extensive experience in fundamental and on-chain analysis, particularly focused on impact of macroeconomics and central bank policies on cryptocurrencies.

More from Ekta Mourya
Share:

Editor's Picks

Top 3 Price Predictions: BTC, ETH and XRP rebound as major support levels cap recent sell-off

Bitcoin, Ethereum and Ripple rebound modestly on Friday after correcting and testing their key support zone the previous day. BTC holds the 50-day Exponential Moving Average, ETH finds support around the 100-day EMA, while XRP holds the horizontal floor near $1.300.

Ripple and Stellar outlook: XRP and XLM recovery stalls below EMAs

Ripple and Stellar remain under pressure on Thursday as both struggle to sustain their recent recovery attempts. XRP trades below $1.36, while XLM slips beneath $0.183, as mixed derivatives metrics, weakening momentum indicators and heating market conditions suggest cautious market sentiment. Derivatives data shows weakening conditions for Ripple and Stellar.

Zcash Price Forecast: ZEC reclaims $1,300 as ETF inflow hits 30-day high

Zcash price hovers above $1,300 on Thursday, sustaining its 15% gains so far this week with three straight days of recovery. Institutional and retail appeal is returning, with over $15 million in inflows recorded on Wednesday and ZEC futures Open Interest rising to a 30-day high of $2.89 billion. The technical outlook for ZEC indicates an upside bias as recovery gains traction.

Bitcoin derivatives improve, but $87,000 sell wall looms
Bitcoin (BTC) showed signs of recovery on Wednesday as derivatives positioning improved, but sell risk grew between $86,500 and $87,500, where sell orders and leveraged liquidation clusters could limit further gains.
Bitcoin: Macroeconomic headwinds, cooling demand cap BTC gains
Bitcoin (BTC) extends losses this week, trading below $82,500 as of Friday as selling pressure continues. Weakening institutional demand supports this pullback as BTC spot Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) are on track to record a two-week withdrawal streak, reaching $146.19 million in net outflows through Thursday.