Blockchain monitoring firm Elliptic has raised the likelihood that the hacker responsible for the FTX exchange breach may have ties to Russia. Their theory is partly based on the fact that crypto funds were transferred while FTX’s founder, Sam Bankman-Fried, was in a Manhattan court. The time of the event cast doubt on the idea that he was the thief.
Elliptic provided a timeline outlining the movements of the stolen funds on the blockchain. It shows that much of the stolen assets were converted into Bitcoin and passed through ChipMixer. ChipMixer is an unlicensed Bitcoin privacy mixer shut down by the Justice Department.
Why not SBF?
According to Elliptic, substantial stolen assets were mixed with funds from Russian-linked criminal groups including ransomware gangs and darknet markets, before being sent to cryptocurrency exchanges. This suggests the involvement of a broker or intermediary with connections to Russia.
The FTX exchange suffered a breach last November, resulting in the loss of 9,500 Ethereum (ETH) and other crypto assets. Despite some funds being frozen for compliance reasons, most were converted into different cryptocurrencies and moved to other blockchains, making it more challenging to trace the funds. The report also highlights RenBridge, Alameda Research-owned, and ChipMixer-linked’s potential role in laundering the stolen assets.
While Elliptic doesn’t believe the Lazarus Group is responsible for the FTX hack, it underscores the significance of tracing crypto funds to prevent their use in criminal activities.
