Coins.ph reportedly lost over 12 million XRP tokens (equivalent to $6 million) in an alleged exploit. Reports say the hacker managed to exchange and send the tokens across multiple platforms, including OKX, WhiteBIT, OrbitBridge, SimpleSwap, ChangeNOW, and Fixed Float, all within approximately 30 minutes.
The current price of XRP is $0.49. The token's price has decreased by 1.0% in the past 24 hours and by 0.9% in the past week. XRP is the native cryptocurrency for the Ripple network, which primarily focuses on facilitating cross-border payments.
This alleged security breach has raised serious questions about the safety protocols and regulations of cryptocurrency exchanges in the Philippines, especially since Coins.ph is a major player with over 10 million users. Furthermore, this incident has negatively affected the already fragile sentiment and price of XRP, mainly due to ongoing legal issues between Ripple and the US SEC over allegations of unregistered securities offerings.
As per the data from XRP scan, the hacker tried to trade almost 13 million XRP in several transactions, with one apparently being unsuccessful. After obtaining around 12.2 million XRP tokens, the hacker moved the tokens to different exchanges. Some platforms took immediate action to halt or mark the stolen XRP, seeking help from blockchain analysis firms Cristal and Chainalysis. This exploit is considered to be one of the largest thefts of XRP in recent times.
Did coins.ph lose $6 million in an XRP hack? Ripple's current price reflects the impact
Philippines' leading crypto exchange faces potential exploit; rising concerns surround local crypto security and xrp amidst ongoing SEC legal challenges
At a glance
Coins.ph reportedly lost over 12 million XRP tokens ($6 million) in an alleged exploit on Tuesday, last week. The Block reported that according to the blockchain explorer XRP Scan, a hacker exchanged and sent the XRP tokens through various platforms, including OKX, WhiteBIT, OrbitBridge, SimpleSwap, ChangeNOW and Fixed Float, within about 30 minutes.
Information from CoinDesk shows the current price of XRP is $0.49 as of this writing. The price has declined by 1.0% in the past 24 hours and by 0.9% in the past seven days. XRP is the native cryptocurrency of the Ripple network, which aims to facilitate cross-border payments.
How the exploit happened
The exploit occurred within a short timeframe, where an alleged hacker traded nearly 13 million XRP in multiple transactions, as per data from XRP scan. One of these transactions, however, appears to have been rejected or didn't go through.
After acquiring roughly 12.2 million XRP tokens, the hacker transferred these tokens to various exchanges and destinations. Some of these platforms acted swiftly to block or flag the stolen XRP tokens and contacted blockchain analysis firms Cristal and Chainalysis for further investigation.
The impact of the exploit
The exploit has raised concerns over the security and regulation of crypto exchanges in the Philippines. coins.ph is one of the country's locally-licensed cryptocurrency exchanges with over 10 million users.
The exploit has also affected the price and sentiment of XRP, which has been struggling to recover from the legal woes with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The SEC has accused Ripple of conducting an unregistered securities offering by selling XRP tokens.
According to reports, this latest exploit is one of the largest thefts of XRP tokens in recent history.
MB Technews reached out to coins.ph and has yet to receive a reply from the crypto exchanges about this incident.
Sources
Philippines-based exchange Coins.ph appears to have lost 12.2 million XRP in possible exploit | The Block Live
(https://www.theblock.co/post/258701/philippines-based-exchange-coins-ph-appears-to-have-lost-12-2-million-xrp-in-possible-exploit)
Coins.ph Loses $6 Million Worth of XRP Tokens in Exploit!
(https://cryptorank.io/ru/news/feed/399cd-coins-ph-loses-6-million-worth-of-xrp-tokens-in-exploit)
Coins.ph Loses $6 Million Worth of XRP Tokens in Exploit!
(https://coinpedia.org/crypto-live-news/coins-ph-loses-6-million-worth-of-xrp-tokens-in-exploit/)