The FTX Hack: $477M Vanishes as the Empire Falls
$477M stolen from FTX as the exchange was already dying
FTX was already dead when someone decided to rob the corpse. On November 11, 2022, the same night FTX filed for bankruptcy, roughly $477 million in crypto was drained from the exchange's wallets.
Users watching on-chain saw the funds moving in real time and posted frantic warnings on social media. FTX's general counsel told employees the company had been "hacked" and to delete their apps. The new CEO, restructuring expert John Ray III, confirmed unauthorized access to the wallets. It was chaos on top of chaos.
The timing was suspicious from the start. FTX was collapsing. Sam Bankman-Fried had just been ousted. The company was transitioning to new management. Security protocols were in shambles. Someone used that window of confusion to grab nearly half a billion dollars.
For months, the identity of the hacker was unknown. Theories ranged from a rogue insider to SBF himself to external attackers exploiting the chaos. Then in January 2024, the DOJ unsealed an indictment naming three individuals: Robert Powell, Emily Hernandez, and Carter Rohn, connected to a SIM-swapping conspiracy. They had allegedly exploited a known vulnerability in FTX's infrastructure during the bankruptcy chaos to drain the wallets.
The Aftermath
The FTX hack added insult to the already devastating collapse. Creditors facing billions in losses had to account for another $477M stolen during the chaos. In January 2024, the DOJ charged Robert Powell, Emily Hernandez, and Carter Rohn in a SIM-swapping conspiracy connected to the drain. FTX creditor repayments began in 2024 under the supervision of restructuring CEO John Ray III.
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