Binance Freezes $4.2M of Ripple Hack Proceeds, Aids Investigation
Cryptocurrency exchange Binance has helped secure over $4.2 million worth of XRP tied to the recent hack of Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen’s personal crypto accounts. The exchange also stated they are supporting law enforcement’s ongoing investigation.
Highlights:
- Binance CEO says the team has frozen $4.2 million of XRP stolen in the Ripple hack.
- Hack drained over 213 million XRP worth $112 million from Larsen’s wallets.
- Stolen XRP laundered through an array of exchanges, including Binance.
- Binance is pledging continued coordination with Ripple and authorities.
On February 1st, word spread that Chris Larsen, a Ripple executive, had several private XRP wallets compromised, resulting in the theft of more than $112 million worth of the token. Additionally, Larsen confirmed the breach on X, as Ripple worked with exchanges like Binance to track the stolen funds.
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An examination of on-chain flows by blockchain investigator ZachXBT first discovered that over 213 million XRP had been drained from Larsen’s accounts in the attack. The perpetrators then tried obfuscating the money trail by shuffling the ill-gotten XRP through exchange services like MEXC, Kraken, and Binance.
Binance CEO thanked crypto sleuths and Ripple
Binance CEO Richard Teng has now revealed that, upon being alerted by ZachXBT and others, Binance has acted swiftly to identify and freeze $4.2 million worth of the stolen XRP that ended up on its trading platform.
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“We will continue to support Ripple in their investigations and their efforts to retrieve back the funds, including closely monitoring the majority of funds still in the exploiter’s external wallets,” Teng pledged via tweet.
The exchange is also providing active coordination with Ripple Labs, and law enforcement is working to track down where the bulk of stolen tokens reside.
Teng positioned Binance’s rapid response and open collaboration with Ripple as representative of its “firm dedication to supporting a safe ecosystem.”
