Leading crypto exchange Binance announced Wednesday that it has frozen roughly $4.2 million worth of XRP">XRP tokens out of $112 million stolen from Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen’s wallets.
Binance CEO Richard Teng stated the team quickly identified and froze the funds after learning of the brazen exploit – part of the exchange’s pledge to keep assisting with investigative and recovery efforts going forward.
The exchange now closely monitors the hacker’s external wallets, which still hold the vast majority of loot, in hopes that additional amounts get deposited. But Binance only managed to freeze about 3.75% of the total funds drained.
With Ripple now spearheading further investigation, little else is publicly known about the mysterious hack exploit for now. Some inaccurate rumours even initially pinned the blame on Ripple’s corporate accounts rather than Larsen’s holdings.
While progress is uncertain, Binance’s quick action to at least isolate millions is an initial win, buying time and applying pressure behind the scenes to unmask where the rest disappeared. Still, recovering even a fraction more of some $107 million remains in question.
