In a startling revelation, it has come to light that four wallets belonging to Chris Larsen, Executive Chairman of Ripple, were hacked. It resulted in a significant loss of 237.68 million XRP (approximately $117.4 million).
The breach was identified by Blockchain analyst ZachXBT, who noticed a transfer of 212.68 million XRP to various exchanges, with an additional 25 million XRP still residing in the compromised wallet “rHVjfY“. Larsen tweeted that they quickly caught the problem, froze affected addresses, and involved law enforcement.
This security compromise has sent shockwaves through the cryptocurrency community, resulting in a more than 5% decline in Ripple’s XRP token value. Chris Larsen swiftly responded, clarifying that the breach was limited to his personal XRP accounts and not the Ripple network itself.
The stolen funds, totaling $112.5 million, were reportedly laundered through prominent cryptocurrency exchanges, including Binance, Kraken, OKX, Gate, HTX, HitBTC, and MEXC. Talking about HTX, the crypto exchange found itself at the center of a hacker’s crosshairs. This intrusion resulted in the loss of a substantial 5,000 Ethereum (ETH), equivalent to a staggering $8 million USD on September 24, 2023, igniting security concerns.
ZachXBT, who initially flagged the incident, highlighted approximately eight addresses associated with the alleged theft. The timestamps of these transactions reveal a rapid movement of funds on Tuesday, raising concerns about the security of Ripple’s ecosystem.
Source: ZachXBT
It’s worth noting that Ripple (XRP) is the sixth-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, and this breach poses significant challenges to its reputation. Ripple Labs, the company behind the network, faced legal scrutiny when the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission sued them for selling XRP tokens without proper registration. However, a victory in July 2023 saw the judge refraining from categorizing XRP as a security.
This incident raises questions about the overall security measures within the cryptocurrency space and highlights the vulnerability of even prominent figures like Chris Larsen to hacking attempts. The quick response from Ripple and the involvement of law enforcement will undoubtedly be closely monitored as the investigation unfolds.
