An XRP bridge was drained of $200,000 this week after a flaw let an attacker pass off unbacked tokens as real deposits. The bridge has been halted, and the operator has filed a complaint with the FBI.
How the attack worked
The attacker created unbacked XRP on another blockchain and exchanged it for real XRP held in reserve. The bridge's software mistook the fake deposits for genuine ones, allowing the swap to go through. It's a classic spoofing problem, but the stakes were real money.
Bridge halted
The bridge was taken offline after the incident. The operator hasn't said when it might resume, or whether users will be made whole. For now, anyone who relied on the bridge to move XRP across chains is stuck.
FBI complaint
The operator has filed a complaint with the FBI, which is now looking into the theft. No arrests have been announced. The case is early, and the FBI doesn't typically comment on open investigations.
