Over 25 billion XRP tokens, valued at approximately $15 billion, were transferred to Bitfinex, leaving market observers puzzled and triggering a wave of speculation. The alleged transferred amount accounts for a staggering 50% of the circulating XRP supply, intensifying concerns within the cryptocurrency community. The startling transaction came to light through a now-deleted post by Whale Alert, a popular crypto-tracking platform.
However, criticism soon followed, as some experts deemed Whale Alert’s tweet misleading. Contrary to initial reports, the transaction was not a massive transfer of 25 billion XRP. According to sources, Whale Alert’s code misinterpreted the transaction, misreporting the actual movement. It was clarified that the transfer was a partial payment involving only a fraction of the initially stated amount.
Amid the confusion, the bizarre move was later confirmed as an attempt to attack Bitfinex using a partial payment exploit. Bitfinex CEO Paolo Ardoino reassured the community that the attack had failed, thanks to the platform’s robust handling of the ‘delivered_amount data field.’ Furthermore, it was revealed that a similar attack targeting Binance had also been thwarted.
He later urged Whale Alert to fix its explorer and alert notifications to show the right amount.
According to a document earlier published by the XRPL team, the sender of a payment transaction can enable the “Partial Payment” flag, allowing the transfer of an amount less than indicated in the ‘amount’ field. This functionality, when exploited, can be used to manipulate and return payments without incurring additional costs.
XRP ETFs Remain a Hot Topic
The XRPL team emphasized the importance of using the ‘delivered_amount’ metadata field when processing payments, as it reflects the actual amount delivered. Exploiting native integrations with the ledger through partial payments was highlighted as a potential threat, particularly in attempts to steal funds from exchanges and gateways.
Meanwhile, the Ripple-backed token has diverged from the broader market trend, holding its ground as the total crypto market cap experienced a 2.6% decline. The cryptocurrency market is now eyeing the possibility of an XRP-spot ETF, particularly after Grayscale incorporated the altcoin into its Digital Large Cap Fund [GDLF]. These speculations are grounded in the potential implications of the Programmatic Sales of XRP ruling, which could pave the way for introducing an XRP-spot ETF.