Ripple co-founder and executive chairman Chris Larsen said on Jan. 31 that his personal accounts had been hacked. The news was first reported by crypto analyst ZachXBT, where it was initially thought that the company itself had been hacked.
Yesterday, there was unauthorized access to a few of my personal XRP accounts (not @Ripple) – we were quickly able to catch the problem and notify exchanges to freeze the affected addresses. Law enforcement is already involved. https://t.co/T3HtKSlzLg
— Chris Larsen (@chrislarsensf) January 31, 2024
According to Larsen:
“Yesterday, there was unauthorized access to a few of my personal XRP accounts (not @Ripple) — we were quickly able to catch the problem and notify exchanges to freeze the affected addresses. Law enforcement is already involved.”
The Ripple chairman didn’t confirm the amounts but, per ZachXBT, the breach netted 213 million XRP (XRP) worth about $112.5 million as of the time of the event.
The funds were reportedly siphoned and then the perpetrator(s) attempted to launder the XRP through at least six different exchanges.
Theft addresses
— ZachXBT (@zachxbt) January 31, 2024
rGhR13XyM43WdDaSMznHd5rZ4cJatybvEg
rHQVKntyfkDCPhEBL2ctryuEAkDZgckmmV
rLsUemhuBZtF44rqqzneb2F9JgyrRYYd4t
rKPERax7t9iFvT3RHXn5nifyNpzp9a4hBa
rpjs4HLX1gJoEenH69PsQmXaXY22QhCYAT
rLRhugR4ysNa2xkt4E6fKN8krs9jatCp6w
rnCyeUNvfDbtTagGEPjBfTCBz6EqJjf2Uj…
However, as Larsen’s X post indicates, law enforcement is involved and has currently frozen accounts related to the breach. It’s unclear at this time whether the funds remain in exchange custody.
Ripple didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
News of the hack spread swiftly; the price of XRP subsequently dipped by about $0.01, but it rebounded quickly and remains near flat nearly an hour after the hack was initially reported.
While it currently appears as though Ripple accounts weren’t involved, thus indicating that XRP-holder funds are safe, this could stand as one of the largest cryptocurrency-related hacks of 2024 so far.
