FTX Hack: Bankrupt exchange disastrously loses $701m in assets

Assets worth millions of dollars inexplicably vanished from the failing cryptocurrency exchange FTX on Friday 11 November, according to exchange authorities, in what may have been a “hacking” event.

The once-respected and extensively marketed cryptocurrency exchange announced Friday that it was investigating a torrent of “abnormal” asset transfers from its accounts. The firm is already in a stunning state of financial disrepute, and the subject of multiple regulatory investigations. A further examination seems to indicate that up to $500 million could have been taken.

This hack adds insult to injury for FTX, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy after it was unable to sustain withdrawals from a mass pullout of funds. FTX account holders began fretting on Twitter, claiming that their funds had mysteriously vanished from their accounts. At 11:52 p.m., an admin for the exchange’s Telegram page then released this enigmatic and chilling statement: FTX has been hacked. All funds seem to be gone. FTX apps are malware. Delete them…

After, Ryne Miller, FTX’s general counsel, releases a vague holding statement: “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…