A reported $15 billion XRP transfer to Bitfinex, initially flagged by Whale Alert, was later revealed to be a failed “partial payments exploit.”
Key Takeaways
- Whale Alert initially reported a massive $15 billion XRP transfer to Bitfinex, sparking concerns and speculation.
- The transaction, accounting for nearly half of XRP’s circulating supply, was later identified as a failed “partial payments exploit.”
- Bitfinex’s CTO explained that the exploit targeted a potential misconfiguration in Bitfinex’s software to process partial payments.
- Crypto influencer Ben Armstrong addressed the incident, urging caution, dismissing the reported transaction’s improbability, and suggesting it might be an attempt to manipulate XRP’s price.
$15 Billion Transfer Jammed
On January 14, Big Whale Alert, a cryptocurrency transaction monitoring account, initially reported a colossal transfer of $15.6 billion XRP from an unknown wallet to the Bitfinex exchange, raising eyebrows in the crypto community.
Read More: Big Whale Move 127 Million XRP as Price Drops Below $0.56
This transaction, equivalent to almost half of XRP’s total circulating supply, triggered widespread speculation about its potential impact on the XRP market.
However, the situation took a turn when Whale Alert removed the post, citing difficulties in reading the Ripple node response and acknowledging “an issue with properly reading the Ripple node response, resulting in a few wrong posts.”
Bitfinex’s Explanation and Community Reaction
Bitfinex’s Chief Technology Officer, Paolo Ardoino, provided insights into the incident, revealing that it was a failed “partial payments exploit” attempt. The attacker seemed to anticipate a misconfiguration in Bitfinex’s software, making it susceptible to exploitation through partial payments.
The crypto community swiftly reacted to the incident. Crypto influencer Ben Armstrong addressed the situation in an emergency video, advising viewers not to panic or sell their XRP.
To Conclude
The reported $15 billion XRP transfer to Bitfinex, initially causing a stir in the crypto community, was clarified as a failed “partial payments exploit.” Whale Alert’s retraction of the post due to issues with reading the Ripple node response added confusion.
Bitfinex’s CTO explained the exploit attempt, emphasizing a potential misconfiguration in their software. Crypto influencer Ben Armstrong urged caution, dismissed the transaction’s improbability, and suggested it might be a ploy to manipulate XRP’s price or a hack of the monitoring account.
