THORSwap, the transaction aggregator under cross-chain liquidity protocol THORChain, announced that it has entered maintenance mode due to illegal fund inflows. The so-called illegal funds refer to the cash flow of the FTX hacker. He has frequently exchanged coins and laundered money on the chain in the past week.

THORSwap: Put an end to all criminal behavior

The THORSwap announcement pointed out that a series of illegal financial flows may be transferred through THORChain, especially THORSwap. After consultation with legal advisors and law enforcement authorities, it was decided to temporarily transfer THORSwap to maintenance mode.

THORSwap will maintain maintenance mode until they can implement a more complete solution, claiming that this is to resist any potential illegal activities, and there is currently no further information to share with users.

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

Although THORSwap has suspended trading, lending, staking and other services are still operating normally.

According to THORChain Explorer, THORChain has seen a surge in trading volume this month, hitting an all-time high of $355 million on October 5.

Analyst Ember pointed out that after THORSwap was suspended, FTX hackers were forced to switch to Threshold Network for currency exchange.

FTX hackers moved crypto assets multiple times

According to on-chain analysis agency Lookonchain, FTX hackers have transferred 22,500 ETH (approximately $38 million) this week and exchanged the assets for BTC through THORChain.

Consensys product manager Taylor Monahan also recently pointed out that North Korean and Russian hackers are laundering money through THORChain. In the past four months, more than 50% of currency exchanges (ETH → BTC) were conducted through THORSwap.

Little information about “FTX hacker”

After FTX filed for bankruptcy, there were reports of hackers or internal theft of funds. New CEO John Ray once confirmed this, and the U.S. Department of Justice also launched an investigation, but no more relevant information was released in subsequent developments.

(On-chain detective ZachXBT: FTX hackers are real, don’t confuse them with the Bahamas government!)

This article: Unable to tolerate FTX hackers’ continued currency exchange and money laundering, THORSwap announced that the platform has entered maintenance mode. First appeared on Chain News ABMedia.