A Hacker Is Sitting on 233 Million XRP From the Binance Theft. What Happens if It Gets Sold?
A hacker moved hundreds of millions in stolen XRP into a single wallet, and now every XRP holder is watching to see if the sell-off comes and what it does to the price.
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On October 29, 2026, a hacker breached Binance and moved 233.46 million XRP (CRYPTO:XRP) into a single wallet, valued at approximately $297 million, according to blockchain analytics firm Nansen. This situation has many XRP holders concerned about how the price might be affected if the hacker decides to sell.
XRP dropped 3.3% over 24 hours after the breach, reaching $1.25 on October 30, 2026, after closing October 29 at its lowest point in 30 days. XRP remains the fifth-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, but the drop reflects a broader trend. XRP has fallen 16.1% in the past month and 32.1% since the start of 2026, and now trades 65.8% below its all-time high of $3.65, set July 17, 2025.
Ripple Can Freeze RLUSD, But Not the Hacker’s XRP
The Binance attack began on October 29, and XRP was the first asset the hacker targeted. Arkham reported that the initial $300 million stolen was in XRP, while TRM Labs tracked around $296 million moving through the XRP Ledger. The hacker also stole Bitcoin (CRYPTO:BTC), with Nansen estimating 18,270 BTC across 19 wallets of 1,000 BTC each. The XRP stays consolidated in one wallet, while the spread-out Bitcoin is harder to track.
Ripple froze about $40 million of Ripple USD (CRYPTO:RLUSD) linked to the theft, according to TRM Labs. RLUSD is Ripple’s stablecoin, designed to hold a value of $1. Because Ripple issues this coin, it can activate a freeze feature on the XRP Ledger that locks tokens within a specific wallet.
XRP is different. It’s the ledger’s native asset, so no single company can control it or trigger a freeze. Ripple can’t lock the hacker’s 233.46 million XRP, and no one else on the network can either.
Exchanges are responsible for freezing the tokens instead. If the hacker sends XRP to an exchange, that platform can freeze the deposit before any trading occurs. Hackers typically move stolen coins through various trades and smaller exchanges to avoid that scrutiny, which slows down their ability to sell.
XRP’s Price Drop Reflects Market Sentiment, Not Just Hacker Activity
The hacker’s wallet appears to weigh on market sentiment rather than immediately trigger selling. XRP’s 3.3% decline mirrored the broader market trend, with Bitcoin falling 3.2% to $77,401 and Ethereum (CRYPTO:ETH) dropping 3.9% to $2,230 over the same 24 hours. If the stolen XRP were being dumped on the market, XRP would likely be falling more steeply than its peers.
XRP briefly dipped below $1.20 during today’s busiest trading hour before recovering above $1.25, suggesting buyers stepped in to absorb the early selling.
XRP Remains Below Key Long-Term Trend Lines
A key concern is the moving averages, which measure price changes over specific periods to show the overall trend. XRP is trading below its 20-day average of $1.32, its 50-day average of $1.40, and its 200-day average of $1.28.
In contrast, Bitcoin stays above its 200-day average of $73,107, and Ethereum remains above its 200-day average of $2,159, leaving XRP as the only major cryptocurrency trading below its long-term trend line. Over the last 30 days, XRP’s 16.1% drop stands in stark contrast to Bitcoin’s 7.4% decline and Ethereum’s 16.9% decrease.
Bitcoin has historically shown resilience during selloffs, backed by a larger pool of buyers. Smaller coins like XRP and Ethereum typically bear the brunt of selling pressure instead. XRP faces this challenge at a particularly delicate moment, since it lost its 200-day average even before the hack. Knowing a hacker holds 233.46 million stolen coins only adds to that pressure.
Can the Hacker’s XRP Push the Price Down?
A gradual sale of the stolen XRP likely wouldn’t drastically affect prices. At $1.25 each, the 233.46 million XRP totals about $291.8 million, about 7.5% of XRP’s 24-hour volume, which the market could probably absorb over several days. A mass sell-off could hit harder, eating through the order book and driving prices lower until new buyers step in, but that’s the less likely path since exchanges can freeze any incoming deposits.
The 2025 Bybit hack offers insight. XRP closed at $2.56 on February 21, 2025, dropped 16.4% a week later, and hit a low 21.3% below it by March 10, but was down only 4.7% a month later. If the hacker’s wallet starts moving XRP and the price falls below its October 29 close, that signals real selling pressure. If the wallet stays inactive and XRP rises above $1.28, fear of the hack is fading.
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Sam Daodu is a crypto analyst and the editor of 24/7 Wall St.'s Crypto Desk, where he covers Bitcoin, XRP, Ethereum, Solana and the altcoins investors search for most. His work focuses on price levels, spot ETF flows, on-chain data and the regulatory decisions that move crypto markets, written so a first-time buyer and a seasoned trader can both use it.
Sam has written about crypto professionally since 2019 and has published more than 2,000 articles. Before joining 24/7 Wall St., he wrote for crypto media outlets and Web3 companies and ghostwrote for crypto founders and token launches. His analysis is syndicated on Yahoo Finance, MSN and AOL and has been cited by other crypto news sites. He also founded MacLabs Marketing, a content and personal branding agency for crypto founders and executives.
When he isn't reading charts, Sam is usually at the gym or watching One Piece, a series he maintains has better tokenomics than most altcoins.
