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Crypto giant FTX 'investigating abnormalities' following bankruptcy filing

Blockchain analytics firm Elliptic said that around $473 million worth of cryptoassets were “moved out of FTX wallets in suspicious circumstances early this morning.”
FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried in Washington, D.C.
FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried in Washington, D.C. on Feb. 9.Sarah Silbiger / Bloomberg via Getty Images file

Officials at the crypto giant FTX have moved all digital assets offline as they investigate possible theft of crypto assets following their bankruptcy filing, their general counsel announced late Friday.

The crypto giant "initiated precautionary steps to move all digital assets to cold storage" on Friday, according to a tweet from Ryne Miller, general counsel for FTX, who added that the "process was expedited this evening — to mitigate damage upon observing unauthorized transactions."

That followed an earlier tweet from Miller that said officials were "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," he added.

Blockchain analytics firm Elliptic said that around $473 million worth of cryptoassets were “moved out of FTX wallets in suspicious circumstances early this morning,” but that it could not confirm that the tokens had been stolen.

Prior to Miller’s tweets, FTX officials appeared to confirm rumors of a hack on the firm’s Telegram channel, according to a CoinDesk report which said that the exchange had instructed customers to delete FTX apps and avoid its website.

“FTX has been hacked,” an account administrator in the FTX Support Telegram channel wrote in a message, according to CoinDesk.

Reuters could not immediately verify the details posted on FTX’s private Telegram channel.

The distressed crypto trading platform had struggled to raise billions to stave off collapse as traders withdrew $6 billion in crypto tokens from the platform in just 72 hours and rival exchange Binance abandoned a proposed rescue deal this week.

The announcement followed the news that FTX and its affiliated companies have started the process of filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, with founder Sam Bankman-Fried stepping down as CEO.

FTX emerged as one of the most recognizable brands of the recent crypto boom, with sponsorship deals that put its logo on the Miami Heat arena and on the shirts of every MLB umpire.

On Friday, the Miami-Heat, in a joint statement with Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, called the news about FTX's collapse "extremely disappointing" and said they would immediately terminate their relationship with the company and find a new name for the FTX arena.