According to an on-chain report on Saturday, September 30, an address associated with the FTX operator became active for the first time in ten months. If previously reportedOn Saturday, approximately 5,000 ETH (equivalent to $8.2 million) was transferred from the marked address (identified as 0x3e9) to new addresses.
However, in the latest development, blockchain data tracker Spot On Chain revealed that the FTX operator moved more than $17 million worth of Ether tokens in the last 24 hours.
FTX Operator to Continue Moving Stolen Money, Spot On Chain Speculates
In one of the most significant exploits in the crypto space, the now-defunct FTX exchange fell victim to a hack just hours after declaring bankruptcy, leading to a loss of more than $600 million.
According to a revelation in the chainthe exploiter has moved large parts of their loot in the past 24 hours. The transferred funds have reached a total of 10,250 ETH (worth approximately $17.2 million), spread across five addresses.
An analysis by Spot On Chain shows that a significant 7,749 ETH (equivalent to approximately $13 million) has been moved into the Thorchain router and Railgun contract. These two decentralized finance protocols (DeFi) are known for their privacy-focused features.
Over the past day, the FTX operator has executed swap transactions involving 2,500 ETH (worth approximately $4.19 million). These funds were converted into 153.4 tBTC (an ERC-20 token standard for Bitcoin) at an average price of $27,281.
???? FTX Exploiter 0x3e9 transferred a total of 10,250 $ETH ($17.1 million) via 5 addresses in the last 24 hours:
– shipped 7,749 $ETH ($13 million) for the Thorchain router and Railgun contract
– 2,500 exchanged $ETH ($4.19 million) to 153.4 $tBTC for $27,281 average
It is striking that the address… https://t.co/xzmDz8Vmma pic.twitter.com/4Ykp0zih6G
— Spot On Chain (@spotonchain) October 1, 2023
The recent money movement by the attacker is believed to be caused by the highly likely approval of Ether futures ETFs in the US. However, there is no substantial evidence supporting these links.
There have been speculations that the exploiter may want to dump their tokens as the ETH price rises after futures ETFs get the green light.
Regardless, onlookers will likely keep an eye on the address’s activity, especially after Spot On Chain suggested the operator may continue to transfer ETH.
Ethereum price overview
The Ethereum price showed good strength at the end of September after struggling all month. The cryptocurrency has started October on a positive note, approaching the psychological level of $1,700 with an increase of 0.6% in the past day.
ETH’s value has risen almost 6% over the past week, reflecting positive signs of recovery. According to data from CoinGecko, the cryptocurrency has experienced a nearly 4% decline in daily trading volume, representing a recent decline in market activity.
Nevertheless, Ethereum remains the second largest cryptocurrency, with a market capitalization of over $200 billion.
ETHUSDT approaching $1,700 mark on the daily timeframe | Source: ETHUSDT chart on TradingView
Featured image from iStock, chart from TradingView