Amid The Collapse Of The Hacked FTX Site, It Is Suspected That The Fund Of IDR 7.3 Trillion Was Drained

The FTX site was hacked, when the crypto exchange was dying. (photo: Twitter @ftx)

JAKARTA FTX, a collapsing cryptocurrency exchange, is reportedly facing a series of unauthorized transactions over the weekend. This prompted some warnings from users and analysts against interacting with mobile apps or their websites.

The wallet associated with FTX experienced an outflow of around US$266.3 million (Rp 4.1 trillion) on November 11, according to analytic firm Nansen. FTX US, a separate entity operating in the United States, was also reportedly drained of 73.4 million US dollars (Rp 1.1 trillion).

According to data journalist Nansen, Martin Lee, there is a very strong suspicion the hacking attack appears to have increased overnight, with net outflows from FTX and FTX US amounting to US$659 million. That number represents roughly a third of the wallet's net outflow over the past seven days.

FTX US general adviser Ryne Miller confirmed on November 12 that the transaction was invalid and that FTX US had transferred all remaining crypto to cold storage as a precaution.

A November 12 blog post from the forensic firm blockchain Elliptic shows that drains have seen various tokens on Ethereum, BNB Smart Chain and Avalanche removed. However, they say that of the 663 million US dollars (Rp 10.2 trillion) that were drained, about $477 million was allegedly stolen, while the rest is believed to have been transferred to safe storage by FTX itself.

An administrator for the Telegram group FTX confirmed that the exchange had been hacked and urged users not to use the FTX website due to potential security vulnerabilities. Don't open the ftx site because maybe you will download the Trojans," wrote the Rey community administrator.

FTX conversations and real security breaches were documented almost in real-time on Twitter, with some users claiming that FTX subscribers received SMS messages and emails urging them to log into apps and websites, which have since been infected with Trojans.

Kraken's chief security officer, Nick Percoco, then tweeted that they were aware of the user's identity but did not share further information publicly.

At the start of the week, FTX was in control of the top three cryptocurrency exchanges. Its monumental collapse began on November 7 when Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao tweeted that the exchange would liquidate its entire FTX Token amid bankruptcy rumors and shady business affairs with the sister firm Alameda Research. The announcement prompted the bank run at FTX, which could not be restored.

On November 11, former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried announced that FTX, FTX US and Alameda Research are filing for bankruptcy.