Blockchain analytic platform Whale Alert recently reported a massive transaction of Ripple (XRP) coins in a now deleted post. This alleged transaction involved over $147 billion worth of XRP moving to cryptocurrency exchanges Binance and Bitfinex. However, this report raised eyebrows, as the total circulation of XRP is only 54 billion.
Blockchain data later revealed that a similar attempt was also made on Binance with 58.9 billion XRP, which also did not succeed. Meanwhile, Whale Alert retracted their initial claim, admitting to misinterpreting Ripple node responses, resulting in erroneous posts.
Bitfinex CTO Paolo Ardoino addressed this anomaly. He clarified that an attack was attempted on Bitfinex using the “Partial Payments Exploit,” but it was unsuccessful. Ardoino’s intervention came after speculations surged online about a huge transaction. Reports at the time suggested that nearly half of XRP’s supply was transferred from a single wallet to the exchange in one go.
Ardoino explained that the attack aimed to exploit Bitfinex’s handling of partial payments. However, the attempt failed as the exchange correctly processes the ‘delivered_amount’ data field. This exploit involves manipulating the ‘amount’ field in a transaction while sending a much smaller amount, misleading the recipient. He added that the attack was unsuccessful because “Bitfinex properly processes the ‘delivered_amount’ data field.”
The crypto community, including influential commentator ‘Wolf of All Streets,’ expressed skepticism over this transaction. The possibility of a single wallet holding such a significant portion of XRP’s supply is considered to have major implications for the asset’s liquidity and market control.
Meanwhile, the HKVAC recently removed XRP from its top five global crypto indexes, replacing it with Solana. Additionally, Ripple Labs announced plans to buy back $285 million of its shares from employees and early investors. The move is part of a strategic effort to boost investor confidence, with a potential expansion to $500 million to cover additional expenses. However, the investors in this category would only be allowed to sell up to 6% of their holdings.
