Cryptocurrency exchange Binance has taken decisive action by freezing $4.2 million worth of XRP, which is part of the funds stolen in a significant hack. The hack, which occurred on January 31, targeted the personal wallet of Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen, leading to a loss of $112 million. This incident marks the largest hack of 2024 to date.
Binance CEO Richard Teng took to the social media platform X to announce the freezing of the exploiter’s address. He credited the swift coordination and assistance of on-chain detective ZachXBT and the Ripple team for the prompt response. However, Thomas Silkjær, head of analytics and compliance at the XRP Ledger Foundation, responded to Teng’s announcement, indicating that it was the foundation that initially investigated the issue.
Early reports mistakenly suggested that Ripple, or the XRP token itself, had been compromised. Chris Larsen later clarified that the security breach affected his personal accounts, not the company’s infrastructure.
Unlike many recent cybercriminals, the individual behind this hack did not utilize crypto mixers or decentralized exchanges to obscure their tracks, a tactic that has become less favored due to the risk of centralized exchanges freezing illicit funds.
The confusion regarding the hack’s attribution arose when XRP block explorers XRPScan and Bithomp tagged the compromised account as belonging to Ripple. Larsen has since stated that efforts are underway, in collaboration with various cryptocurrency exchanges, to freeze the exploiter’s address. Law enforcement agencies have also been notified of the breach.
ZachXBT disclosed that the hacker managed to steal 213 million XRP, valued at approximately $112.5 million, and attempted to launder the assets through multiple exchanges, including MEXC, Gate.io, Binance, Kraken, OKX, HTX, and HitBTC. While Binance has successfully frozen a portion of the stolen funds, the response from other exchanges such as OKX and Kraken remains unclear.
As the cryptocurrency community awaits further developments, the incident underscores the ongoing challenges and risks associated with digital asset security. Binance and Ripple have yet to provide additional comments on the situation.
Get $200 Free Bitcoins every hour! No Deposit No Credit Card required. Sign Up