THORSwap announced its decision to shift into maintenance mode following the movement of illicit funds through the platform. It is speculated that the funds shifted through THORSwap were the ones exploited from the FTX exchange not too long ago. After halting the platform, the team at THORSwap made it clear that the platform actively stands against any and all criminal actions. Furthermore, the decision to halt the platform was reached after a careful evaluation of the situation, along with consultation with advisers, legal counsels, and law enforcement agencies.
Fellow THORChads,
A pressing and persistent concern has recently come to light: the potential movement of illicit funds through THORChain and, specifically, THORSwap. Such activities have no place on the THORSwap platform, and THORSwap stands firmly against any and all criminal…
— THORSwap ⚡ #BetterThanCEX (@THORSwap) October 6, 2023
At the same time, THORSwap added that the decision was placed in effect to eliminate the possibility of any further illicit activity. As per the current situation, the platform will continue to remain in this mode until a more robust and permanent solution can be implemented to ensure the platform’s continued security and integrity.
The halt would only affect all trading operations, and other services including lending, borrowing, and staking would remain available and function normally. THORSwap harnesses the capabilities of THORChain, which grants users the freedom to trade tokens between different blockchains.
What Happened With THORSwap?
Not too long after the filing of bankruptcy by FTX in November 2022, an unknown exploiter managed to drain a considerable number of wallets and disappeared with a sum of almost $600 million. As of now, the exploiter’s identity remains a mystery. Even though many people have raised speculations that the disgraced CEO of the FTX exchange, Sam Bankman-Fried is the hacker himself, this still remains unknown.
The anonymous hacker managed to transfer approximately 15,000 Ether tokens worth almost $24.75 million. Furthermore, these stolen Ether tokens were then exchanged for Bitcoin via the ThorSwap network. The use of THORChain for these illegal transfers was a main point of concern. The hacker responsible for the FTX exploit has sent a total of 60,000 ETH tokens through four addresses since September 30 and currently holds almost 125,735 ETH tokens through 9 different addresses.
The hacker managed to make 234 ETH within the previous 24 hours as well through SIM swap attacks on four different Friend.Tech users. Many in the crypto space have often talked about Friend.Tech’s inefficient registration and security methods are often targeted by attackers.
