TL;DR
- On Feb 1, 2024, Binance CEO Richard Teng revealed that the crypto exchange has frozen accounts with roughly 8.3 million Ripple XRP ($4.2M) of stolen funds.
- The frozen funds were tied to a significant security breach on Ripple, resulting in a loss of about 213 million XRP tokens.
Binance Freezes Stolen XRP from Co-founder Ripple Account
Crypto exchange Binance has frozen $4.2 million worth of XRP stolen during a hack on a Ripple executive’s account.
Richard Teng, Binance CEO, reveals in a post on X that they have identified and frozen some of the stolen Ripple (XRP).
He added that the developers of XRP Ledger (XRPL)—who maintain the blockchain that uses XRP, had notified the exploit to crypto exchanges.
They further requested checking for deposits tied to exploiter wallet addresses.
We will continue to support Ripple in their investigations and their efforts to retrieve back the funds, including closely monitoring the majority of funds still in the exploiter’s external wallets in case they deposit to Binance.
Binance CEO Richard Teng stated in a post on X.
The tokens were stolen in a $113M hack from a wallet. The wallet belonged to Ripple Labs Executive Chairman Chris Larsen.
Larsen admitted that there was an exploit on his personal XRP accounts, not Ripple itself. Surprisingly, he didn’t offer any specifics of how the hacking happened.
XRP Token Exploit the Largest 2024 Hack So Far
Blockchain sleuth ZachXBT reported that 213 million XRP tokens were siphoned from a large wallet. The said wallet was on the XRP Leger blockchain.
The stolen funds were then transferred to several centralized exchanges CEX), including Kraken, Binance, and OKX.
Ripple chief executive officer Bradley Garlinghouse has come out to clarify things. He claims that no Ripple-controlled wallets are compromised, stressing the tight security infrastructure it has.
Notably, this could become the largest hack of 2024. Even with the ongoing investigation to track and recover stolen funds, the complexity of this hack presents significant challenges.
The frozen $4.2 million tokens by Binance are a breath of fresh air, even though they are a tiny portion of the stolen funds.
Other crypto exchanges involved have yet to announce if they have identified or even frozen tokens linked to the exploit.
Ripple’s Exploit Didn’t Follow General Hack Pattern
Interestingly, the hacking didn’t follow the same general hack pattern. It didn’t drain funds as fast as possible and then utilize Tornado Cash to obfuscate footprints.
The hack happened for an extended period; the exploiters stole XRP tokens for at least 10 hours. It was only then that they made deposits on centralized exchanges like Binance.
The recent Ripple hack has sparked controversies in the crypto market. XRP price dropped by roughly 5% after the news of this hack emerged.
It’s a reminder of the security vulnerabilities in the crypto world. It emphasizes the need to enhance security measures and vigilant monitoring by crypto exchanges and custody service providers.
While the investigation is ongoing, the event serves as a cautionary tale about the risks involved with digital asset storage and transfer.
What do you think about Ripple exec’s tokens being stolen and the mystery behind the case?
Suchet Salvesen
Suchet is a Norwegian economist, entrepreneur, and investor, serving as the CFO and COO of Brainfund. With over a decade of experience in global expansion, venture capital, and emerging technologies, he earned his MBA from the NMBU School of Business & Economics. He held dual bachelor's degrees from the University of South-Eastern Norway. His career spans roles at NextToMe, Get, and Conax before joining Everipedia, now Brainfund, in 2017.
