Binance took action to freeze $4.2 million worth of XRP believed to be associated with the $112 million Ripple hack. This marks the largest cryptocurrency hack of 2024 thus far, stirring concerns within the digital asset community.
XRP Ledger Foundation Claims Early Investigation Credit
Binance's CEO, Richard Teng, confirmed the freeze through a post on the social media platform X,where he acknowledged the efforts of on-chain investigator ZachXBT and the Ripple team for their collaboration in identifying the exploited address. The action was part of a broader effort to mitigate the fallout from the hack.
Thomas Silkjær, the Head of Analytics and Compliance at the XRP Ledger Foundation, claimed credit for the foundation's early investigation into the issue, adding a layer of complexity to the attribution of efforts.
Initial speculation surrounding the hack suggested that Ripple itself had been compromised. However, Ripple's Co-Founder, Chris Larsen, clarified that it was his personal accounts, not the company, that were targeted. Larsen assured the public that Ripple's systems remained secure despite the breach.
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
The hacker behind the exploit notably avoided using crypto mixer services or decentralized exchanges to obscure their identity. This departure from recent trends raised eyebrows within the cryptocurrency community, indicating a potential shift in tactics among malicious actors.
After finding out early on about the exploit that occurred at @Ripple, we’re happy to say that the #Binance team has managed to freeze $4.2 Million worth of $XRP stolen by the exploiter.
— Richard Teng (@_RichardTeng) February 1, 2024
We appreciate both the communities efforts in flagging it to exchanges - as always @zachxbt…
Freezing Funds and Collaborating with Law Enforcement
ZachXBT disclosed that the exploited account was initially attributed to Ripple in XRP block explorers, sparking confusion regarding the nature of the hack. Meanwhile, Larsen confirmed that approximately 213 million XRP, valued at $112.5 million, had been stolen from his personal accounts.
In response, Ripple has engaged in discussions with various crypto exchanges to freeze the exploited funds and has notified law enforcement agencies to aid in the investigation.
The perpetrators attempted to launder the stolen XRP through multiple exchanges, including MEXC, Gate, Binance, Kraken, OKX, HTX, and HitBTC. While Binance has taken measures to freeze some of the stolen funds, other exchanges such as OKX and Kraken have yet to disclose their actions regarding the hack.
Fraudulent "Binance Mystery Box" Lottery SMS
Earlier, Binance customers received SMS messages encouraging them to participate in a new lottery offering up to 100 EUR in cryptocurrencies, known as the 'Binance Mystery Box,' as reported by Finance Magnates. Despite appearing in threads with official announcements, these texts were fraudulent and aimed to steal account information.
The scam primarily targeted Binance users in Poland, with confirmed reports of phishing attempts. Binance acknowledged the issue but stated that eliminating fake SMS messages would require extensive modifications to GSM technology, which they deemed unrealistic. While some users speculated about a potential data leak, Binance denied any such breach. Although not prevalent in Poland, the scam is commonly observed in other countries.
