New FTX tokens worth about $380 million appear out of thin air

Quick Take

  • Crypto exchange FTX has seen 192 million FTX tokens minted by its deployer contract.
  • As new tokens have mysteriously flooded the market, Binance has halted FTT deposits.

The deployer contract of FTX Exchange (FTT) tokens mysteriously printed 192 million new tokens today and sent them to a freshly created wallet, according to on-chain data. The total value of these tokens at current prices is about $380 million.

The release of the new FTT came without any announcement from the exchange and follows a reported FTX hack on Friday.

As new tokens began flooding onto the market, Binance halted FTT deposits. “Binance has stopped FTT deposit, to prevent potential of questionable additional supplies affecting the market. Also encourage other exchanges to do the same,” Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao said.

The number of freshly created tokens eclipsed FTT’s prior circulating supply, which was about 133 million, according to pseudonymous crypto researcher 0xfoobar.

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The FTT token played a crucial role in the problems that reportedly led to the insolvency of FTX and trading firm Alameda. 

FTX first came under pressure following a leaked portion of its sister firm’s balance sheet that showed the large majority of the firm’s assets were denominated in FTT tokens. This triggered a bank run from clients last week, which in a matter of days led to the high-profile implosion of the exchange. 


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About Authors

Mike is a reporter on the crypto ecosystems team who specializes in zero-knowledge proofs and applications. Prior to joining The Block, Mike worked with Circle, Blocknative, and various DeFi protocols on growth and strategy.
Vishal Chawla is The Block’s crypto ecosystems editor and has spent over six years covering tech protocols, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence and cloud computing. Vishal likes to delve deep into blockchain intricacies to ensure readers are well-informed about the continuously evolving crypto landscape. He is also a staunch advocate for rigorous security practices in the space. Before joining The Block, Vishal held positions at IDG ComputerWorld, CIO, and Crypto Briefing. He can be reached on Twitter at @vishal4c and via email at [email protected]

Editor

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