FTX, its customer database, and what this latest motion has to do with both

• Bahamian attorneys requested access to FTX’s customer database
• The disputed addresses on the database are hosted by Google and Amazon’s cloud services

As per a CNBC report on 9 December, Bahamian attorneys requested access to FTX‘s customer database. This was requested in an emergency motion filed with a Delaware bankruptcy judge.

The motion filed by the lawyers on behalf of the Bahamas Securities Commission highlighted previous failed attempts to access FTX’s database. As a result, lawyers claimed that FTX’s employees and lawyers obstructed the Bahamian authorities’ access to crucial financial information.

The filing mentioned:

“While the Joint Provisional Liquidators are happy to engage in dialogue with the U.S. Debtors, their refusal to promptly restore access has frustrated the ability of the Joint Provisional Liquidators to carry out their duties under Bahamian law and placed FTX Digital’s assets at risk of dissipation.”

The US bankruptcy proceedings will suffer no harm or hardship if this relief is granted, the filing mentioned.

The disputed database apparently consisted of personal data, such as wallet addresses, customer balances, deposit and withdrawal records. It also included information pertaining to trades and accounting information. It was hosted on Google Cloud Portal and Amazon Web Services (AWS) databases.

New FTX management probing stolen crypto funds

Following a liquidity crisis at FTX, which was mixing assets with the linked hedge fund Alameda Research, the exchange filed for bankruptcy protection last month. Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of FTX, who had a pre-collapse estimated net worth of $16 billion, will testify before American lawmakers the next week.

As per a Wall Street Journal report, the new management at FTX engaged a group of financial forensic investigators on 7 December to find missing crypto funds from customers worth billions of dollars. Funds worth more than $450 million were hacked off wallets owned by FTX and FTX.US last month.

Financial advisory company Alix Partners has been chosen for the task. Matt Jacques, former chief accountant at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), leads the team.