Ripple, the company behind XRP, disclosed that co-founder Chris Larsen’s personal wallet was compromised, leading to a theft of $112 million in XRP. This incident caused XRP’s value to drop by over 4%, dipping below the $0.50 mark for the first time since October 19, 2023. Despite the breach, XRP whales appeared unfazed, choosing not to sell their holdings.
XRP Whales’ Reaction to Security Incident
Data from Santiment showed a surge in large XRP transactions the day after the price decline, with 217 transactions exceeding $1 million each. This level of activity hadn’t been seen since a favorable US court ruling for Ripple in mid-2023. The data suggests that XRP whales are holding steady, with no signs of panic selling.
These major holders of XRP, possessing at least 10 million tokens each, now control 67.2% of the total supply. This concentration of ownership is at its highest since the end of 2022, indicating strong confidence among large investors.
Following the news of the hack, Ripple’s senior executives were quick to reassure that the XRP ledger remained secure and that the affected funds were safe. Larsen confirmed that his personal XRP wallet was accessed without authorization, but the blockchain itself was not compromised.
Larsen has taken steps to mitigate the damage by alerting exchanges to freeze the stolen XRP. Ripple is collaborating with law enforcement to track down the stolen funds, with a significant portion already frozen, and efforts continue to recover the full amount.