Bitget Hack Highlights Limitations of Native XRP Freeze Controls
Bitget, a Singapore-based cryptocurrency exchange, suffered a massive hack on September 24, resulting in the loss of nearly $388 million. The breach involved various blockchains, including ETH, XRP, USDT, and USDC.
Approximately 103 million XRP was stolen and initially distributed among five accounts. By September 28, around $83 million worth of stolen XRP had moved from three holding wallets, while roughly $75 million remained in the original accounts.
The inability to freeze the stolen XRP stems from the XRP Ledger's architecture. As the native asset of the network, XRP does not have an issuer with protocol-level freeze authority. Ripple cannot blacklist self-custodied XRP or prevent otherwise valid transactions.
Centralized exchanges can still restrict accounts when stolen XRP reaches their platforms. They can suspend withdrawals and cooperate with investigators, but tracking the funds on the blockchain does not guarantee recovery.