XRP Bridge Loses $200,000: Software Bug Lets Fake Deposits Drain Real Tokens

The XRP bridge drained 200,000 XRP in 97 minutes. The breach began at 19:16 UTC, siphoning $200,000 worth of XRP from the bridge’s reserve wallet.

Mechanics of the Software Flaw

The bridge was designed to interconnect the XRP Ledger with Coreum (now tx). Users send XRP to a reserve wallet, and the bridge issues an equivalent amount of bridged XRP on the other chain. A software defect, however, caused the system to record deposits that never actually occurred, creating phantom balances.

Relayer System Vulnerability

■Of the 28 relayers, 17 were required to approve withdrawals.

■The flaw stemmed from relayer code that did not verify destination addresses before processing payments with the bridge memo.

■Relayers trusted the bridge’s internal records, which mistakenly showed deposits as legitimate.

Impact on the Crypto Economy

■XRP’s market price dipped by roughly 0.3% in the immediate aftermath, but total market cap impact remains minimal.

■The bridge’s shutdown has shaken user confidence and raised concerns across the broader cross‑chain ecosystem.

■The sector is now demanding stricter code audits and relayer security protocols.

Company’s Response

■tx has patched the vulnerable code and enlisted blockchain forensics specialists.

■An official complaint was filed with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3).

■The company has yet to disclose a concrete plan to compensate affected holders.

Markets must treat such security lapses with gravity; the transparency and code quality of bridges directly influence the long‑term viability of the crypto ecosystem.