Troubled cryptocurrency exchange FTX, which had identified almost $5.5 billion in digital assets for recovery, has claimed that $415 million have been compromised as reported by IANS. However, in the latest development, the FTX authorities have said that the $414 million is recoverable. John Ray III, the exchange’s new CEO, said in a statement that it took the team’s lengthy investigative efforts to get to this conclusion.
“We are making important progress in our efforts to maximize recoveries, and it has taken a Herculean investigative effort from our team to uncover this preliminary information.”
The $415 million worth of cryptocurrency, which makes up a significant chunk of the identified assets that FTX is attempting to recover, was stolen from the exchange’s accounts, according to FTX.
According to FTX, “unauthorized third-party transfers” of $323 million from FTX.com (the worldwide business) and $90 million from FTX US were among the stolen cryptocurrency. Alameda Research, a hedge fund, said that an additional $2 million in cryptocurrency had been taken. The missing cryptocurrency might be linked to a system compromise at FTX that was discovered not long after the business failed in November.
The bankrupt company is looking into another potential asset recovery in addition to the $415 million hack that FTX is attempting to recover. A $2.1 billion share repurchase payment from the exchange to rival Binance in Q3 2021 is reportedly being reviewed by FTX’s advisors. FTX’s first outside investor was Binance, but in 2021 the Changpeng Zhao-led company sold its shares back to FTX.
The FTX Debacle
Sam Bankman-Fried, the former CEO and co-founder of FTX, was detained and extradited from the Bahamas to the United States. Then, shortly before Christmas, Bankman-Fried was released on a $250 million bail, but he also has to be under close surveillance at his parents’ house in Palo Alto, California. He faces eight criminal counts in a New York courtroom, including conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering, and earlier this month he entered a not-guilty plea.