Top Exchange Loses 12M XRP Worth Over $6M in Possible Exploit

Philippines-based cryptocurrency exchange Coins.ph reportedly experienced a major security breach that led to the loss of more than 12 million XRP coins ($6.2 million). 

Coins.ph, a cryptocurrency exchange based in the Philippines, reportedly experienced an exploit leading to the loss of about 12.2 million XRP, worth around $6.29 million at the time of writing. 

Hacker Exchanged Over 999M XRP Lots 13 Times  

The incident, which took place on October 17, 2023, saw a suspected hacker exchange 999,999.999 XRP lots 13 times, with an extra lot of 200K XRP.  

Notably, one out of the multiple transactions did not go through. However, the malicious actor still gained a whopping 12.2 million XRP from the trade. 

In a bid to cash out the funds, the hacker sent the XRP coins to multiple exchanges and destinations, including WhiteBIT, OKX, SimpleSwap, OrbitBridge, Fixed Float, and ChangeNOW. 

WhiteBIT Blocks 445K XRP 

While Coins.ph has not issued a statement regarding the incident, WhiteBIT disclosed in an email that it blocked the 445K XRP the attacker sent to its platform. The exchange noted that it made the move following a request from Coins.ph. 

“In addition, WhiteBIT has reached out to Cristal and Chainalysis, requesting to flag addresses associated with stolen cryptocurrencies,” WhiteBIT added. 

Coins.ph has yet to disclose the measures it has taken to prevent a recurrence in the future. Despite the security breach, Coins.ph has continued operations as usual. 

Hackers Steal 12.6 Million XRP From CoinEx 

Meanwhile, the development comes a month after hackers stole over 12.6 million XRP from leading cryptocurrency exchange CoinEx. At the time, the XRP coins were valued at around $6 million. 

Notably, CoinEx suffered a total loss of $54 million, as the hackers also carted away other crypto assets, including BTC, ETH, MATIC, BNB, SOL, BCH, TRX, KLV, among others. 

Responding to the attack, CoinEx suspended deposits and withdrawals to and from the exchange at the time as it launched an investigation into the hack.