ZachXBT Criticizes Ripple’s $250,000 Bounty for the XRP Ledger Bug. Here Is What Ethereum, Solana and Others Pay for the Same Kind of Find.
A blockchain investigator just called out one of crypto's biggest networks for shortchanging the researcher who may have saved XRP from collapse, and the comparison to what rival protocols pay makes Ripple's reward look even smaller.
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Blockchain investigator ZachXBT labeled Ripple’s $250,000 bug bounty for the XRP Ledger as “cheap” on October 12, 2026. Ripple awarded this amount to a researcher who discovered a flaw in the XRP Ledger—the blockchain behind the cryptocurrency XRP (CRYPTO: XRP). This flaw had the potential to mint a staggering 184 times the total supply of XRP.
Ripple, the company behind much of the ledger software, set this amount as the maximum reward in its bug bounty program. ZachXBT’s concern raises an important question: is $250,000 reasonable for a flaw that could have inundated the market with new coins? Moreover, how does this bug bounty impact what XRP holders possess?
The XRP Ledger Flaw That Could Have Minted 184 Times the Supply
“Minting” refers to creating new coins on a blockchain. The XRP Ledger rules limit the total supply of XRP, and each coin’s value largely depends on maintaining that limit. A flaw that allowed someone to mint 184 times the existing supply would dilute each coin’s value, reduce every holder’s stake in the network, and potentially push coin prices close to zero.
The researcher who found this vulnerability reported it privately on September 22, and thankfully, no one exploited it. Ripple acted quickly by releasing a fix in XRP Ledger version 3.4.1 just three days later, on September 25. They announced the issue publicly on October 9, a timeline that reflects standard security best practices. By keeping the flaw details under wraps until the fix was in place, Ripple gave independent operators time to update their systems, demonstrating a proactive approach to security.
How Ripple’s $250,000 Bounty Compares With $2 Million and $10 Million
Bug bounties are an established reward system for discovering security flaws, incentivizing researchers to report issues rather than exploit them. Ripple’s $250,000 reward is the maximum offered in its program. However, ZachXBT called this amount cheap, and it looks low when compared to other projects.
For instance, LayerZero, which facilitates message and token transfers between different blockchains, offers a maximum reward of $2 million for critical bugs. Wormhole, another cross-chain protocol, offers rewards up to $10 million. While these figures represent ceilings, they highlight the discrepancy in bug bounty programs across different platforms.
Why a Bigger Bug Bounty Changes What Researchers Do
Larger bounties can change researchers’ thought processes. When faced with a serious flaw like the one that could mint 184 times the XRP supply, a researcher weighs reporting it against other options, like staying silent or selling the information to an attacker. If another network offers a significantly higher reward, reporting the flaw becomes less enticing.
In this case, Ripple’s bug bounty program encouraged the researcher to report the bug, leading to a quick fix and preventing any additional coins from being minted. However, one successful report doesn’t prove the $250,000 ceiling is adequate; researchers may have found vulnerabilities but chose not to report them because the reward was too low.
Is Ripple’s $250,000 XRP Ledger Bug Bounty Too Low?
The $250,000 ceiling seems low, especially given the serious implications of a flaw that could have created 184 times the existing XRP supply. Ripple responded effectively to this report, protecting holders. Yet, because bounties are set for future discoveries, it’s worth considering that LayerZero and Wormhole have set much higher standards for such risks.
A higher bounty could also improve Ripple’s reputation at low cost, since Ripple pays only when a critical bug is reported. For XRP holders, the bounty size does not directly affect the coin’s price, since the supply cap is maintained. However, raising the ceiling could reduce risk for holders by better protecting against potentially devastating flaws. If Ripple raises its top reward above $250,000 before the next update after version 3.4.1, it could indicate that ZachXBT’s critique has led to a policy change. If it remains the same, Ripple has indicated that they believe the current reward is sufficient.
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Sam Daodu is a crypto analyst who's spent nearly a decade making blockchain understandable—no easy task when most whitepapers read like fever dreams. He writes for 24/7 Wall St., covering Bitcoin, altcoins, and crypto market analysis for investors. Before crypto, he was a tech writer (back when explaining "the cloud" was peak innovation). Since 2018, he's written for CoinTelegraph, Yahoo Finance, The Block, Cryptonews, Zypto, Rain, and more—basically anywhere people want crypto news without the headache. Sam runs MacLabs Marketing, a content agency for crypto brands tired of sounding like AI wrote their website. He also publishes free crypto education on his site for Web3 enthusiasts who think "gas fees" is a typo. When he's not writing or staring at charts, Sam's either: - Watching anime (currently convinced One Piece has better tokenomics than most altcoins) - At the gym sculpting himself into a Greek god - Listening to the music your mum warned you only bad boys listen to Connect: LinkedIn | Email | MacLabs Marketing
