The criminals allegedly started a sophisticated money laundering operation post exploit.
Chris Larsen detailed the extent of the breach and the measures to minimize its impact.
ZachXBT, an on-chain independent investigator reported that a huge breach at Ripple had resulted in the loss of almost 213 million XRP, which is worth about $112.5 million. Major crypto firm’s security practices came under scrutiny after the event, which was revealed on January 31, 2024, caused widespread worry among the crypto community. Also, as of this writing, XRP was trading at $0.5124, a decrease of more than 2% as per data from CoinMarketCap.
The criminals allegedly started a sophisticated money laundering operation using an address as the starting point for the initial breach.
Investors Keeping Eye on Developments
They sent the stolen XRP via a web of exchanges, among which include Binance, MEXC, and Gate. This calculated approach makes it harder to track down the looted assets, which hampers recovery attempts.
An already serious issue is about to become much worse: Ripple is about to do what it does most often—release 1 billion XRP from its escrow account—which usually causes market speculation. This release usually starts discussions about how it could affect the price of XRP.
But now there’s even more uncertainty because of the latest security compromise. Experts in the market are keeping a careful eye on developments, trying to predict how the breach may affect investor confidence and the market moving forward.
The formal statement was published by Chris Larsen, Co-founder and Executive Chairman of Ripple, in reaction to the incident. He detailed the extent of the breach and the measures the organization is taking to minimize its impact.
This involves strengthening their security architecture to avoid such events in the future and working with law enforcement and cybersecurity specialists to track down the stolen monies.