In an alarming development for the cryptocurrency community, Ripple, has reportedly fallen victim to a significant security breach.

According to the pseudonymous crypto digital detective, ZachXBT who has exposed several bad actors and scams, Ripple was hacked for approximately 213 million XRP, translating to a loss of $112.5 million.

The revelation, made on January 31, 2024, has sent shockwaves throughout the industry, raising concerns over the security measures in place at major cryptocurrency entities.

The source address implicated in the hack, identified as rJNLz3A1qPKfWCtJLPhmMZAfBkutC2Qojm, appears to be the starting point of the illicit activity. From there, the stolen funds have been methodically laundered through a series of cryptocurrency exchanges, including MEXC, Gate, Binance, Kraken, OKX, HTX, HitBTC, and others.

The source address implicated in the hack, identified as:

Theft addresses

rGhR13XyM43WdDaSMznHd5rZ4cJatybvEg rHQVKntyfkDCPhEBL2ctryuEAkDZgckmmV rLsUemhuBZtF44rqqzneb2F9JgyrRYYd4t rKPERax7t9iFvT3RHXn5nifyNpzp9a4hBa rpjs4HLX1gJoEenH69PsQmXaXY22QhCYAT rLRhugR4ysNa2xkt4E6fKN8krs9jatCp6w rnCyeUNvfDbtTagGEPjBfTCBz6EqJjf2Uj rHVjfYzTaB8MzSoQGqpzH9barZr85QsZW7

Ripple security breach

Co-founder and Executive Chairman of Ripple, Chris Larsen, has released an official statement detailing the extent of the breach and the measures being taken to address the aftermath.

The news of the hack comes at a particularly sensitive time, as Ripple is slated to unlock 1 billion XRP from its escrow account tomorrow.

This move, part of Ripple’s routine release of funds, has historically been a point of speculation regarding its potential impact on XRP’s market value. While the unlocking of such a significant amount of XRP has led to concerns over a possible sell-off that could depress the cryptocurrency’s price, the current situation adds an additional layer of uncertainty.

Market observers are keenly watching to see how this latest security breach might influence investor confidence and whether it could exacerbate the market’s reaction to the escrow release.