Key takeaways :
- FTX Advisor Kumanan Ramanathan Safeguards $400 Million in Assets Amid FTX Hack
- BitGo assisted FTX in securing over $1.1 billion in funds during the incident.
In the aftermath of the FTX hack, consultant Kumanan Ramanathan played a pivotal role in protecting vulnerable assets. When unusual outflows were detected on November 11, 2022, Ramanathan volunteered to use his personal Ledger Nano hardware wallet as a temporary refuge for the funds.
Although the exchange eventually reported losses exceeding $400 million, the collective efforts of Ramanathan and the FTX team successfully safeguarded a significant portion of the assets from compromise.
During this critical period, Gary Wang, former Chief Technology Officer at FTX and Alameda, who currently serves as a witness for the prosecution in Sam Bankman-Fried’s criminal trial, also participated in the effort to transfer approximately half a billion dollars’ worth of customer assets to Ramanathan’s personal hardware wallet.
As the CTO, Wang had access to backdoor keys to FTX’s systems, which were later used by him and SBF to move $400 million to the Bahamas Securities watchdog just hours before SBF filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, marking a significant turn of events in the FTX saga.”
“After BitGo’s cold storage wallets became operational, the assets found a more secure and permanent home. FTX collaborated with BitGo, collectively safeguarding over $1.1 billion, as revealed by a Wired investigation. Additionally, an additional $400 million was transferred to the Securities Commission of the Bahamas to enhance their protective measures.
Around 10:30 pm ET on November 11, Ramanathan established a new wallet on his Ledger Nano device. Taking every precaution, he meticulously verified the password. As funds were transferred, Ramanathan assumed the critical responsibility of safeguarding between $400 and $500 million in FTX’s cryptocurrency assets on his USB drive.
Minutes later, BitGo announced the readiness of its wallets, prompting a rapid transfer of hundreds of millions of dollars in cryptocurrency away from Ramanathan’s Ledger device.
Almost 11 months have elapsed, and the FTX hacker’s identity remains shrouded in secrecy. In a subsequent interview, Bankman-Fried alluded to the possibility of an insider, potentially a ‘former employee,’ obtaining access to FTX’s cryptocurrency wallet keys. This perspective was also shared by Zane Tackett, the former head of institutional sales at the exchange, during a recent interview.”
