XRP Wallet Compromise Costs Retiree $3M

North Carolina Retiree Loses $3 Million in XRP Due to Wallet Hack

• A North Carolina retiree lost 1.2 million XRP, valued at over $3 million, after his Ellipal hardware wallet was compromised.
• The breach was identified on October 12, with the victim discovering the loss on October 16.
• Unauthorized transactions began with small transfers before a large transfer of approximately 1.29 million XRP was made to a new wallet.
• The stolen funds were dispersed across hundreds of wallets using a suspected mixing technique to obscure the transaction trail.
• Blockchain investigator ZachXBT linked the theft to Southeast Asia’s laundering ring and noted that recovery prospects are low.

The incident underscores risks associated with self-custody as the victim’s cold wallet seed phrase was imported into an app, converting it into a hot wallet. The stolen XRP was laundered through illicit channels in Southeast Asia.