FTX, a bankrupt crypto firm, announced on Tuesday that $415 million worth of crypto assets were stolen from the exchange’s accounts. This represents a significant portion of the assets the company is trying to recover. In a presentation titled “Maximizing FTX Recoveries,” lawyers and advisors for FTX debtors updated the total liquid assets identified for recovery and said they are valued at around $5.5 billion. However, this includes unauthorized third-party transfers of $323 million out of FTX.com (the international business) and $90 million out of FTX US, the company said in a statement. Additionally, $2 million of hedge fund Alameda Research’s crypto was also stolen.
The stolen crypto could be connected to a hack of FTX’s systems that was uncovered shortly after the company collapsed in November. FTX filed for bankruptcy after a wave of withdrawals caused the exchange and sister hedge fund Alameda to falter. The company’s founder and ex-CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried, was indicted by federal prosecutors on fraud and money laundering charges in December. Bankman-Fried pleaded not guilty to the charges in January and was released on a $250 million bond ahead of his trial, which is set for October.
Binance was the first outside investor in FTX, but Bankman-Fried bought out Binance’s stake in the company in 2021.
