FTX Hacker Moves 360 BTC Through ChipMixer

In line with a common pattern observed in past attacks, the next step for the FTX hacker has been to use a decentralized protocol to "launder" the stolen funds. Specifically, the hacker is reported to have moved 360 BTC through the ChipMixer platform, as updated by on-chain investigator ZachXBT.

As Coin68 has continuously reported, FTX experienced a black hat attack shortly after declaring bankruptcy on November 11, with a theft totaling up to $500 million in various tokens. The hacker subsequently converted all stolen assets into ETH, making them the 34th largest ETH whale globally. On November 20, the attacker further converted the stolen ETH into renBTC to integrate with the Bitcoin network.

Notably, of the 7,000 BTC stolen from Binance in May 2019, at least 4,836 BTC were laundered through ChipMixer. As of August 2022, ChipMixer had been used to launder 48.9% of Bitcoin transactions, while Tornado Cash remained more popular with 74.6%.

ChipMixer offers external anonymity to its users, but its model still allows platform owners full access to the data. Launched in 2017, ChipMixer has been known as a “honeypot” trap by the U.S. government.