YEREVAN (CoinChapter.com) — Chris Larsen, co-founder of Ripple, lost $150 million worth of XRP in January 2024. The theft, linked to the LastPass data breach from 2022, remained undisclosed until a recent U.S. law enforcement filing.
The investigation confirmed that Larsen’s private wallet keys were stored in LastPass, a password manager that suffered a major security breach. The exposure led to significant financial losses, with stolen funds transferred across multiple wallets.
LastPass Breach Leads to One of the Largest Crypto Thefts
In 2022, LastPass was hacked, exposing thousands of user credentials, including those of cryptocurrency wallets. At the time, around $35 million in crypto was stolen from 150 victims. The new revelation shows that the actual losses were much higher.
A forfeiture complaint filed by U.S. law enforcement identified that Larsen’s XRP wallet was compromised because his private keys were stored on LastPass. The breach allowed attackers to access and steal his XRP holdings without resistance.
Until now, Larsen had not publicly disclosed the reason behind the theft. Law enforcement confirmed that this case is among the largest crypto-related losses linked to LastPass.
ZachXBT Criticizes LastPass for Security Failures
ZachXBT, a blockchain investigator, highlighted LastPass’s role in multiple crypto thefts. He stated that the company failed to disclose the full impact of its breach, leaving users unaware of their exposure.
“A forfeiture complaint filed yesterday by U.S. law enforcement revealed the cause for the $150 million hack of Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen’s wallet in January 2024. It was due to storing private keys in LastPass, which was hacked in 2022. Until now, Chris Larsen had not publicly disclosed the cause of the theft,”
he posted on Telegram.
Security experts have previously warned against storing cryptographic keys in password managers. Larsen’s XRP hack is now one of the largest individual crypto losses tied to the LastPass breach.
XRP Price Drops After Hack Disclosure
Following the revelation, XRP’s price dropped by more than 7%. The token had been attempting a price rebound earlier in the day, but the news of the hack added downward pressure.
XRP has experienced significant volatility, with a 20% drop last month after a Trump-related crypto announcement. The market reaction to the hack further increased uncertainty for investors.
Chris Larsen and LastPass Remain Silent on Investigation
So far, Chris Larsen has not commented on the investigation. His social media has been inactive since October 2024, when he last posted about election-related topics.
Meanwhile, LastPass continues advertising its services despite ongoing criticism over its security vulnerabilities. The law enforcement report confirms that the 2022 breach played a major role in one of the largest XRP thefts.
