FTX says hackers stole $415M after cryptocurrency exchange filed for bankruptcy
FTX has recovered approximately $5.5 billion in assets since declaring bankruptcy but reported a 'substantial shortfall of digital assets' Tuesday
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Collapsed crypto exchange FTX has confirmed that approximately $415 million of customer funds was stolen by hackers hours after it filed for bankruptcy last November.
FTX met with debtors on Tuesday and provided an update on asset recovery efforts as the company proceeds with Chapter 11 bankruptcy. In addition to approximately $5.5 billion in liquid assets, FTX Debtors identified a "substantial shortfall of digital assets" in both the FTX.com and FTX US exchanges that was allegedly stolen.
A sum of $90 million in the U.S. exchange was "subject to unauthorized third-party transfers" after the company filed for bankruptcy, FTX said. Another $323 million was stolen from FTX.com.
Of the recovered assets, FTX has $1.7 billion in cash, $3.5 billion in crypto assets, and $300 million in liquid securities. At its height, the crypto exchange was valued at an estimated $35 billion.
Signage outside the FTX Arena in Miami, Nov. 17, 2022. (Eva Marie Uzcategui/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
"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," said CEO John J. Ray III, who is managing the company through its bankruptcy proceedings.
"We ask our stakeholders to understand that this information is still preliminary and subject to change. We will provide additional information as soon as we are able to do so," he said.
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Sam Bankman-Fried leaves Federal Court in New York City on Thursday, December 22, 2022. The former CEO of FTX and Alameda has been released on $250M bail. (Charles Guerin/Abaca for Fox News Digital / Fox News)
The Justice Department opened an investigation into the alleged cybercrime in November, Bloomberg News reported.
The criminal probe into the stolen assets is separate from the case against FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried, who is accused of stealing billions of dollars from FTX users and funneling that money to his cryptocurrency trading firm, Alameda Research.
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FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried leaves following his arraignment in New York City on Dec. 22, 2022. (ED JONES/AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)
A split photo of Sam Bankman-Fried, the FTX logo, and former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison, who both face charges amid FTX's collapse. (Getty Images / Getty Images)
Bankman-Fried, 30, the disgraced crypto exchange founder, faces multiple charges from the Southern District of New York and the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The charges include conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit commodities fraud, conspiracy to commit securities fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and conspiracy to defraud the Federal Election Commission and commit campaign finance violations.
Bankman-Fried has pled not guilty and was released on $250 million bond last month.
FOX Business' Louis Casiano contributed to this report.