Crypto exchange Kraken has frozen a handful of accounts owned by the bankrupt FTX Group, Alameda Research, and their executives. Kraken has been in contact with law enforcement after discovering that an account on its platform was used in connection with unauthorized transfers at FTX.
Kraken freezes accounts linked to FTX, Alameda Research and executives
Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken has taken steps to freeze verified accounts on its platform belonging to FTX Group, Alameda Research and their executives. Kraken’s official Twitter account tweeted on Sunday morning:
Kraken has spoken with law enforcement regarding a handful of accounts owned by the bankrupt FTX Group, Alameda Research and their executives. Those accounts have been frozen to protect their creditors.
Kraken stressed: “Other Kraken customers are not affected. Kraken maintains full reserves.”
FTX filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Friday. John Ray was appointed the new chief executive of FTX Group after Sam Bankman-Fried stepped down.
Alleged FTX Hacker Uses Kraken
Following FTX’s bankruptcy filing, Twitter users noticed that the exchange’s wallets were being emptied. Ray, FTX’s new CEO and chief restructuring officer, later confirmed the unauthorized transfer.
Twitter users also noticed that funds were moved from Kraken to a wallet used to hold some of the stolen tokens. A few hours later, Nick Percoco, Kraken’s chief security officer, tweeted: “We know the identity of this account.” However, he noted that he could not reveal the user’s identity publicly on social media.
Rain Miller, General Manager of FTX, explained on Saturday: “Following the Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing – FTX US and FTX.com took the precautionary step of placing all digital assets in cold storage. [The] The process was expedited this evening – to minimize damage on sighting of unauthorized transactions.
Miller then quoted the new FTX CEO as saying:
As widely reported, unauthorized access to certain assets has occurred … We have been in contact with, and are coordinating with law enforcement and relevant regulators.
