The hacker responsible for stealing over $400 million from FTX and FTX US in November is suspected of using the trial of Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), founder of FTX, as a smokescreen to obfuscate the stolen funds. The hacker, known as “FTX Drainer,” has been moving millions in Ether obtained from the November attack in recent days.
Hugh Brooks, the director of security operations at CertiK, suggests that the hacker may be capitalizing on the increased attention surrounding the trial to hide the assets. Additionally, it’s possible that the hacker assumed the trial would monopolize industry attention, making it difficult to trace the stolen funds while covering the trial simultaneously.
FTX Drainer Hacker Allegedly Exploits SBF Trial for Fund Obfuscation
FTX declared bankruptcy in November 2022 after employees noticed massive fund withdrawals following the attack. The team managed to prevent the attacker from accessing the entire $1 billion in the raid by transferring remaining funds to a privately owned Ledger cold wallet.
The hacker has been altering their methods to obscure the stolen assets, initially using a “peel chain” method and later adopting a more sophisticated approach. Investigations into the FTX hack are ongoing, and no individuals or groups responsible for the hack have been identified thus far.