US DOJ Investigating Nov. 11 $372M Crypto Hack of FTX

The Department of Justice (DOJ) is reportedly investigating a Nov. 11 crypto hack of FTX.

The DOJ has launched a criminal probe into the alleged $372 million cybercrime that happened hours after the crypto exchange declared bankruptcy on Nov. 11, Bloomberg reported Tuesday (Dec. 27).

U.S. authorities have managed to freeze a small portion of the assets with the help of platforms that cooperated with law enforcement and are now tracking both the hacker and the rest of the funds, according to the report.

The DOJ’s National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team is leading the investigation, the report said.

The theft was reported by the new CEO of FTX, John J. Ray III, on Nov. 12, the day after the firm declared bankruptcy and the funds were stolen.

Blockchain data firm Chainalysis reported Nov. 20 that the funds were “on the move” and told exchanges to watch for any attempts by the hacker to cash out the stolen funds, according to the report.

As PYMNTS reported at the time, Chainalysis said Nov. 20 that it was in touch with partners across the ecosystem in tracking the stolen funds and working to secure assets to return to depositors.

In an interview with PYMNTS posted in August, Chainalysis Head of Research Kim Grauer said it is far easier to see what’s happening and track crime on public blockchains than it would be with U.S. dollars because public blockchains instantly and immutably record every transaction.

“The transparency of this data set actually allows us to see how much crime is happening in real time,” Grauer said at the time. “Every transaction that ever occurs on the blockchain is available forever. It’s always going to be there. And that is devastating for criminals who don’t want the evidence of their crime to be preserved for all time.”

The FTX hack came about a month after Chainalysis reported that as of Oct. 13, crypto hackers had stolen over $3 billion in 125 hacks to that point in 2022. The firm said that put fraudsters on a course for a record annual tally topping 2021’s total value hacked.