'Unauthorised transactions' drained millions from FTX crypto exchange - check rise & fall

Beleaguered crypto exchange FTX on Sunday admitted that "unauthorised transactions" have drained hundreds of millions of dollars from its wallets, saying the company has moved many digital assets to a new "cold wallet custodian".

FTX, which last week filed for bankruptcy in the US, did not reveal how much it lost in unauthorised transactions but reports claimed the amount could be as high as $600 million.

"We are in the process of removing trading and withdrawal functionality and moving as many digital assets as can be identified to a new cold wallet custodian. As widely reported, unauthorised access to certain assets has occurred," Ryne Miller, the general counsel at FTX US, said in a tweet.

He added that an active fact review and mitigation exercise was initiated immediately in response.

"We have been in contact with, and are coordinating with law enforcement and relevant regulators," Miller said.

FTX on Friday filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the US, as its Founder and CEO Sam Bankman-Fried resigned from his role.

John J Ray III has been appointed the new CEO and nearly 130 additional affiliated companies -- including FTX US and Alameda Research -- have also begun the bankruptcy process.

Earlier, world`s largest crypto exchange Binance took a U-turn on acquiring FTX, saying it was backing out of the deal after reviewing the company`s finances, leading to further fall in major cryptocurrencies.

Binance had signed a non-binding, letter of intent to purchase FTX for an undisclosed sum.

FTX has fallen from being the third largest crypto exchange to 62nd, according to CoinMarketCap.

Here is a history of FTX since its foundation in 2019:

2019:

May - Former Wall Street trader Sam Bankman-Fried and ex-Google employee Gary Wang founded FTX, the owner and operator of FTX.COM cryptocurrency exchange.

2021:

July - A $900 million funding round valued FTX at $18 billion.

September - FTX signed a sponsorship deal with Mercedes' Formula 1 team.

October - FTX raised capital at a valuation of $25 billion from investors including Singapore's Temasek and Tiger Global.

2022:

Jan. 27 - FTX's U.S. arm said it was valued at $8 billion after raising $400 million in its first funding round from investors including SoftBank (9984.T) and Temasek.

Jan. 31 - FTX raised $400 million from investors including SoftBank (9984.T) at a valuation of $32 billion.

June 4 - FTX signed a reportedly $135 million sponsorship deal for naming rights of the Miami Heat's home court.

July 1 - FTX signed a deal with an option to buy embattled crypto lender BlockFi for up to $240 million.

July 22 - FTX offered a partial bailout of bankrupt crypto lender Voyager Digital. Voyager called it a "low-ball bid".

Aug. 19 - A U.S. bank regulator ordered FTX to halt "false and misleading" claims it had made about whether funds at the company are insured by the government.

Nov. 2 - Crypto news website CoinDesk reported a leaked balance sheet that showed Alameda Research, Bankman-Fried's crypto trading firm, was heavily dependent on FTX's native token, FTT. Reuters was unable to verify the report.

Nov. 6 - Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao said his firm would liquidate its holdings of FTT due to unspecified "recent revelations".

Nov. 7 - Bankman-Fried said "FTX is fine. Assets are fine".

Nov. 8 - Binance said it was planning a deal to acquire FTX.

Nov. 9 - Binance decided against pursuing a nonbinding agreement to bail out FTX.

Nov. 10 - FTX suspended on-boarding of new clients as well as withdrawals until further notice

Nov. 10 - Bankman-Fried told staff in a memo that he was seeking a capital raising and had held talks with Justin Sun, founder of the crypto token Tron

Nov. 10 - Reuters reported that Bankman-Fried is seeking to put together a rescue package of up to $9.4 billion for FTX

Nov. 11 - FTX starts voluntary Chapter 11 proceedings in the United States, along with its U.S. unit, crypto trading firm Alameda Research and nearly 130 other affiliates. Bankman-Fried resigns as CEO.