From CryptoPotato · By Chayanika Deka
XRP whale net flow on Binance hit -226 million units on October 29. This reading is 2.72 times the -83 million units recorded in September 2022.
CryptoQuant analysis flagged 283 million XRP in large-transfer outflows from the exchange that day, as the security breach unfolded.
Whale Movement
TRM Labs traced 233.46 million XRP from five Binance wallets to an attacker-controlled address, while Elliptic independently reported approximately 233 million XRP in related transfers. Large withdrawals above 1 million dropped to 14.7 million on October 30, down 94.8% during the withdrawal suspension.
When Binance began restoring withdrawals, including XRP, in phases on November 1, large-transfer outflows climbed to 80 million, which is 5.44 times the October 30 reading. Whale netflow remained negative at approximately −50 million XRP. According to CryptoQuant, moving the crypto asset off the exchange may reduce the supply available for immediate sale and ease near-term selling pressure.
Binance’s security breach resulted in an estimated $6.3 billion in stolen digital assets, making it the largest crypto heist in history. Initial investigations pointed to a possibly compromised employee laptop. The FBI later confirmed that North Korea was behind the attack and linked it to the state-sponsored cybercrime group “TraderTraitor.”
US President Donald Trump, who had promised to look into the incident, also said he would speak with North Korea if its involvement was confirmed. Binance, meanwhile, said it has covered around 95% of the stolen assets, although sourcing the remaining amount could take longer. The exchange has repeatedly assured customers that it will absorb all losses resulting from the attack.
ETFs Close October in Green
With a hack of that scale hitting Binance, XRP took an expected beating as it fell from above $1.3 to $1.2 within hours. But the drop wasn’t as severe as the collapses seen during some previous exchange failures. The asset managed to recover to around $1.25 at press time.
On the institutional front, October ended on a positive note for spot XRP ETFs, which pulled in $18.83 million overall. The final two weeks did much of the work, after bringing in $4.25 million and $4.32 million, respectively, enough to make up for the modest outflows earlier in the month.
The post Binance XRP Outflows Explode to 226 Million as Whale Activity Reaches Levels Last Seen in 2022 appeared first on CryptoPotato.