Ripple’s co-founder and executive chairman, Chris Larsen, revealed on January 31st that his personal accounts had been compromised in a hacking incident. Initially, it was mistakenly reported that the company itself had been hacked, but Larsen clarified that it was his personal accounts that were targeted.
Although Larsen did not disclose the exact amount stolen, crypto analyst ZachXBT estimated that the hack resulted in the theft of 213 million XRP, which is equivalent to approximately $112.5 million at the time of the incident.
The stolen funds were then allegedly funneled through at least six different exchanges in an attempt to launder the XRP. However, law enforcement authorities are currently involved in the case and have frozen accounts linked to the breach. It is uncertain whether the stolen funds are still in the custody of the exchanges.
Ripple has not yet provided a comment regarding the incident when requested.
The news of the hack quickly spread, causing a slight dip in the price of XRP. However, the cryptocurrency quickly recovered and has remained relatively stable since the initial report of the hack.
It is worth noting that while it appears Ripple’s accounts were not compromised in this incident, indicating that XRP-holder funds are secure, this hacking incident could still be considered one of the largest cryptocurrency-related hacks of 2024 thus far.