XRP Tokens Worth $112.5 Million Moved to Exchanges in Possible Ripple Hack
On-chain sleuth ZachXBT discovered that approximately 213 million XRP tokens, valued at around $112.5 million, were transferred to centralized exchanges in what appears to be a Ripple hack. The movement of these tokens began on January 30 and involved several platforms such as Binance, Gate, HTX, HitBTC, Kraken, and OKX.
Ripple Co-Founder Chris Larsen Acknowledges Unauthorized Access
After the incident was reported by ZachXBT, Ripple co-founder and executive chairman Chris Larsen confirmed that there had been unauthorized access to some of his personal XRP accounts. He emphasized that these tokens were not under the control of Ripple as a company and promptly notified exchanges and law enforcement about the potential hack.
Doubts Surrounding the Alleged XRP Theft
Despite the claims of theft, some individuals on social media expressed skepticism and questioned why Ripple or Larsen did not flag the transactions earlier. Kirill Tiufanov, founder of web3 security startup Polyzoa, pointed out delays in transaction execution and suggested that manual input rather than automated scripts or smart contracts were used. Coinbase director Conor Grogan echoed these sentiments, deeming the activity unusual.
XRP Market Reacts to News
Following the news of the alleged hack, XRP experienced a 5% decrease in market price according to CoinMarketCap. The token dropped to as low as 49 cents, with trading volume surging by over 85% and market cap decreasing by more than 4%.
Continued Suspicious Activities in the Crypto Space
This incident adds to a series of suspicious activities involving crypto-related individuals and entities. Criminals have stolen millions of dollars in digital assets from web3 operators and compromised social media pages of platforms like CoinGecko. Additionally, North Korea’s Lazarus group stole $600 million in 2023, accounting for a third of all hacks and thefts. However, Chainalysis reported a 39% decrease in cryptocurrency received by bad actors and cybercriminals.
Hot Take: Ripple Faces Security Breach with XRP Tokens
Ripple, the blockchain technology company behind XRP, has been hit by a security breach as approximately $112.5 million worth of XRP tokens were transferred to centralized exchanges in what appears to be a hack. While the incident raises questions about the security measures employed by Ripple and its co-founder Chris Larsen, skeptics argue that the delay in flagging the transactions suggests an insider dumping rather than a traditional hack. As XRP’s market price plummets and trading volume skyrockets, this incident serves as another reminder of the ongoing security challenges faced by the crypto industry.
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