Anonymous hackers of the now-defunct exchange FTX have been moving large amounts of assets stolen from the platform, with new transactions occurring just as the trial of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried gets underway.
As much as 72,500 Ether (ETH) of stolen assets from FTX has awakened for the first time since the exchange was hacked in November 2022, the blockchain analytics firm Elliptic reported on Oct. 12.
According to Elliptic, the thief has converted $120 million worth of ETH into Bitcoin (BTC) through the multichain decentralized exchange (DEX) THORSwap since Sept. 30, 2023.
The first converting transactions were made just a few days before Bankman-Fried’s trial started on Oct. 3. At the time of the hack, the converted amount was worth $87 million, or 18% of the total stolen funds of $477 million.
The FTX hacker applied a similar laundering technique to the one deployed in November 2022, when the hacker transferred 65,000 ETH ($100 million) to BTC using the cross-chain bridge RenBridge.
“The 180,000 ETH that was not converted to Bitcoin through RenBridge remained dormant until the early hours of Sep. 30, 2023 — by which time it was worth $300 million,” Elliptic wrote in the new report.
Daily number of transactions involving FTX stolen assets. Source: Elliptic
Elliptic mentioned that the FTX hacker lost $94 million in the days following the hack as the attacker rushed to launder the funds through decentralized exchanges, cross-chain bridges and mixers.
Almost a year after the hack, the identity of the FTX thief is still unknown, Elliptic noted. The blockchain analytics firm suggested three possibilities for who could be behind the FTX theft: an FTX inside job, North Korea’s Lazarus Group and Russia-linked criminal groups.
“Some FTX employees would have had access to the business’s crypto assets in order to move them for operational reasons. In the chaos surrounding the company’s bankruptcy and collapse, it may have been possible for an internal actor to take these assets,” the Elliptic’s report reads.
Steve Witkoff, the US special envoy to the Middle East, has claimed the UK played a “vital role” in helping negotiate the Gaza peace deal, smoothing over a potential diplomatic row between London and Washington.
Witkoff took to X on Monday, ahead of meeting President Donald Trump in Israel, to praise the UK.
“I would like to acknowledge the vital role of the United Kingdom in assisting and coordinating efforts that have led us to this historic day in Israel,” Witkoff wrote.
“In particular, I want to recognise the incredible input and tireless efforts of National Security Advisor Jonathan Powell.”
His comments came 24 hours after education secretary Bridget Phillipson was branded “delusional” by Mike Huckabee, the US ambassador to Israel, for claiming that Sir Keir Starmer’s presence at a signing ceremony for today’s ceasefire deal in Egypt “demonstrates the key role that we [Britain] have played”.
Phillipson added: “We have played a key role behind the scenes in shaping this.
“It’s right that we do so because it’s in all of our interest, including our own national interest, that we move to a lasting peace in the region.
“These are complex matters of diplomacy that we are involved in. But we do welcome and recognise the critical role that the American government played in moving us to this point.”
Her comments prompted Mr Huckabee to repost the Sky News clip on social media, claiming: “I assure you she’s delusional.”
He added: “She can thank Donald Trump anytime just to set the record straight.”
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Mr Huckabee was part of the negotiating team for the peace deal, with Mr Trump calling the former Arkansas governor “AMAZING” as he said he “worked so hard, and did so much, to bring about peace in the Middle East”.
In August, Mr Huckabee said the UK and other European nations that said they would declare a Palestinian state were “having the counterproductive effect that they probably think that they want”.
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Israel’s deputy foreign affairs minister, Sharren Haskell backed Huckabee, telling Sky News the UK played “the opposite” of a key role in the peace deal after recognising the Palestinian state.
“The message that the UK government has sent Hamas was the message that: the longer they continue this war, they will be rewarded.
“I mean, you must understand that when a terrorist organisation is thanking you. You are on the wrong side of history.”
It is understood the prime minister has underlined Mr Trump’s key role in securing this deal throughout the process. Publicly, he praised Mr Trump twice in his press conference in India on Thursday.
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Final preparations for hostages in Israeli hospital
Ms Phillipson stood by the September decision to declare a Palestinian state, saying it was “the right thing to do”.
Husam Zomlot, the Palestinian ambassador to the UK, told Sky News it was a “moment of leadership” for the UK to declare a Palestinian state, and a “responsibility to begin to correct a century of the gravest historic injustices committed against our people”.
He added: “That moment three weeks ago, when the UK did recognise, is a moment when we can say that the wheels of history are turning in a different direction.”
No plans for British troops on the ground
The education secretary also told Sky News the government has “no plans” to put British troops into Israel or Gaza as part of a stabilisation force after the ceasefire.
The US military will help establish a multinational force in Israel, known as a civil-military coordination centre, which is likely to include troops from Egypt, Qatar, Turkey and the UAE.
Image: Tens of thousands of Palestinians have walked back to Khan Younis in southern Gaza. Pic: AP
On Friday, US officials said up to 200 US troops already based in the Middle East will be moved to Israel to help monitor the ceasefire in Gaza.
The day before, President Trump announced Israel and Hamas had “signed off on the first phase” of a peace plan he unveiled last week.
Image: Pic: Reuters
Aid trucks have been gathering in Egypt to cross into Gaza after months of warnings by aid groups of famine in parts of the territory.
In Israel, the remaining hostages are due to be returned from Gaza by Hamas on Monday under the first phase of the peace plan. Twenty are believed to still be alive, 26 have been declared dead, while the fate of two is unknown.
The ceasefire agreement has been made two years after Hamas stormed Israel on 7 October 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages.
Israel’s military offensive has killed more than 67,000 Palestinians in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, which the UN deems reliable.