Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse took to X to address what he termed “irresponsible speculation and reporting” regarding the security of Ripple-managed wallets.
In a definitive statement, Garlinghouse clarified, “NO Ripple-managed wallets were compromised. Full stop.”
This response came after Ripple’s co-founder Chris Larsen confirmed a security breach involving his personal XRP accounts. Larsen emphasized that the incident was isolated and did not impact Ripple wallets, which he assured remain secure.
Conflicting reports and market impact
As reported by U.Today, Larsen confirmed a security breach involving unauthorized access to several of his personal XRP accounts. The swift identification of the issue allowed for immediate action, including notifying exchanges to freeze the affected addresses and involving law enforcement.
Independent cryptocurrency investigator ZachXBT reported the theft of approximately 213 million XRP, valued at around $112.5 million, which was subsequently laundered through various exchanges.
This revelation had an immediate effect on XRP’s market value, causing a more than 5% plunge.
A community note on X (formerly Twitter) clarified the situation further, stating, “Ripple wasn’t hacked. Yesterday, unauthorized access to Chris Larsen’s personal XRP accounts occurred, distinct from Ripple.”
The note emphasized the security of Ripple wallets and the lack of compromise of any Ripple-managed wallets.
Yet, ZachXBT called attention to the misattribution of Larsen’s compromised account as belonging to Ripple in XRP block explorers. He also noted the omission of Larsen’s role as co-founder and executive chairman of Ripple in the community note.
The largest hack of 2024
This hack is the largest theft of cryptocurrency in 2024 so far, and the twentieth largest in recorded history, according to data from Rekt, a website tracking web3 and crypto breaches. Last year, the crypto world witnessed around $2 billion worth of cryptocurrency stolen across various hacks, as reported by crypto security firms.
