[ExI] lotta splainin to do

[Will Steinberg]

Spike is referring to the subsequent 'hack' and draining of their remaining
funds.

Short version: was 99% chance an inside job.  Attacker had access to the
private keys of their digital currency reserves (like having your safe
deposit box key) and used them to transfer all FTX's assets to his/her own
wallet.  Nothing confusing here.  Some guy on the inside used the password
to steal everything.

On Mon, Nov 14, 2022 at 10:35 PM Adrian Tymes via extropy-chat <
extropy-chat at lists.extropy.org> wrote:

> A lot of FTX's assets and value were in its own token, FTT, much like
> normal banks back their assets with cash, gold, or the like.  So, when the
> value of FTT suddenly plunged (because someone who had a lot of FTT
> suddenly no longer trusted FTX, and sold their FTT to wash their hands of
> their investment in FTX), FTX suddenly didn't have the assets to conduct
> its normal business with, much like a bank run.  The inability of a major
> currency exchange to convert cryptocoins to USD meant those cryptocoins
> were significantly less able to be converted to USD - which caused their
> value in USD to drop substantially.
>
> Much like any bank run, a massive hit to public confidence in a major
> financial institution caused impacts to the value of the main currencies
> that institution dealt in.
>
> On Mon, Nov 14, 2022 at 7:17 PM spike jones via extropy-chat <
> extropy-chat at lists.extropy.org> wrote:
>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> We have a lot of digital currency followers here, so perhaps some
>> kindhearted hipster can offer me an explanation simple enough a rocket
>> scientist can understand (one who never owned a bitcoin or was convinced
>> the notion of digital currency could work.)
>>
>>
>>
>> I keep hearing of this FTX digital money exchange, but I don’t understand
>> it.  Some news agencies are reporting that it was looted by someone,
>> possibly an insider, but that makes no sense because the main selling point
>> of bitcoin was that ownership is maintained by blockchain, which is said to
>> be inherently secure.  So… this looter, what did she steal?  Digital
>> currency?  Or did FTX have a huge pile of paper currency, and if so, why
>> did FXT have a huge pile of cash when inflation is at 8%?
>>
>>
>>
>> But if they did, was that cash in a safe, then some sneaky scoundrel with
>> the combination hauled away the loot in the back of a very sturdy
>> heavily-loaded delivery truck?  A USA bill has about 1g mass, so a million
>> bills is a ton, so even if all that moola was in the largest American bill,
>> the 100, we are still talking 4 tons of currency said to be missing and
>> that just doesn’t sound like something that would be easily carted away.
>> It would be a heeellll of a job just loading the truck.  But if it is
>> digital currency which was stolen, how can they suppose the looter somehow
>> got away with 400 megabucks?
>>
>>
>>
>> This story makes no sense to me.  A puzzled rocket scientist I am.
>>
>>
>>
>> Adrian or some of you other hep cats, do explain please.
>>
>>
>>
>> spike
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