A US investor lost $3.05 million in XRP after their Ellipal hardware wallet was reportedly hacked, with funds laundered through channels tied to sanctioned entities.
A United States user recently suffered a massive financial loss. Specifically, they reported losing $3.05 million in XRP actively. This stealing was done after their Ellipal hardware wallet was somehow compromised. Consequently, the incident points out to serious security risks in the crypto sphere now. The victim posted a video about the theft this week.
Hacker Launders Stolen XRP via Huione-Linked OTC Channels
The stolen funds were moved around via active Bridgers soon. Furthermore, the money was finally laundered through certain OTC channels currently. These over the counter channels are clearly tied to Huione effectively. Of note, Huione is a platform for Southeast Asia at this time. US regulators recently sanctioned this platform. The sanctions have to do with charges, currently, of fraud and money laundering.
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According to ZachXBT, the attacker created more than 120 Ripple-to-Tron orders now. Therefore, this was done using Bridgers formerly known as SWFT on October 12, 2025 now. Moreover, the transactions could be seen on block explorers as Binance now. This is because Bridgers uses the exchange for liquidity at the moment. By October 15, the funds were completely laundered away.
The funds were moved to OTCs adjacent to Huione now. Historically, the laundering of billions in illicit funds has been actively facilitated by Huione. This encompasses the money from pig butchering scams and human trafficking now. Consequently, restrictions were applied toward Huione by the US recently. This action was an associated seizure of $15 billion in Prince Group now.
Crucially, ZachXBT emphasised the importance of having better controls now. Specifically, centralized exchanges, as well as issuers of stablecoins, must be more stringent with their checks now. These illicit laundering networks are a serious threat right now. They have a bearing on the longevity and reputation of the entire crypto space now.
Ellipal Hack Highlights Confusion Over Wallet Security Types
The victim in the video was apparently inexperienced now. Therefore, they did not give adequate details about the compromise now. It is widely suspected that the breach was caused due to user error now. This issue highlights a more general problem now for the industry. For instance, there is quite often confusion on custodial product and non-custodial products now.
The XRP victim mistakenly believed that they were using a cold wallet now. However, they were reportedly making use of a hot wallet instead now. As a result, this misunderstanding frequently causes large thefts nowadays. Experts are calling on manufacturers of these products to explain these distinctions at this time.
Furthermore, victims have a hard time seeking qualified help at this point. The victim commented on the difficulty of bringing the US law enforcement up to speed now. Few legal bodies are qualified to deal with such complex crypto cases now. Generally, jurisdictions such as US, Netherlands and Singapore have been better now.
In addition, there are many predatory recovery companies nowadays. They charge high dollars for basic and non-actionable reports now. On the contrary, the chances of recovery for this victim is low at the moment. This is because of delay in reporting the theft at the earliest. Therefore, according to experts, victims should report theft addresses as early as possible now. Prompt action improves the odds of detection at this point.
The Ripple community currently lacks a very good support system for the victims. This support is available in a more readily Bitcoin and Ethereum ecosystems now. As a result, the $3.05 million loss is a grave warning at present. It makes it very important to be vigilant about personal security now.
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