Crypto News- The Daily Crypto Brief: In a surprising turn of events, Binance has stepped up to assist Ripple co-founder Chris Larson in the aftermath of a $112 million hack on his personal wallet. Binance CEO Richard Teng revealed that the exchange froze $4.2 million worth of stolen XRP from Larson’s compromised accounts. The freeze was made possible through the collaboration of on-chain investigator ZachXBT and the Ripple team. Notably, the hacker refrained from using crypto mixer services or decentralized exchanges to conceal their identity, a departure from recent trends where exploiters avoid centralized exchanges to prevent funds from being frozen.
The Daily Crypto Brief: Highlights from Today’s Cryptocurrency Scene
Chris Larson disclosed that his personal XRP accounts were breached, resulting in the theft of 213 million XRP tokens. The move by Binance to freeze a substantial amount of the stolen funds showcases a proactive approach to mitigating the impact of crypto thefts.
In another twist, three individuals have been implicated in a SIM swap attack that led to the $400 million hack of FTX in 2022, just hours after the exchange filed for bankruptcy. United States prosecutors charged Robert Powell, Carter Rohn, and Emily Hernandez with orchestrating SIM swap attacks, stealing the identities of 50 victims, and convincing telecom providers to port the victims’ numbers to their phones. A blockchain security firm, Elliptic, suggested that FTX is likely the “Victim Company-1” mentioned in the indictment. The attack involved Hernandez impersonating an employee and Powell gaining unauthorized access to FTX’s AT&T account, facilitating the transfer of over $400 million in virtual currency from the exchange’s wallets.
Polygon Labs Adapts: CEO Announces Layoffs Amidst Tech and Banking Sector Shifts
In a separate development, Polygon Labs, the developer behind the Polygon ecosystem, announced significant layoffs, affecting 19% of its staff. CEO Marc Boiron clarified that these layoffs were driven by the goal of enhancing overall performance, with no financial motivations behind the decision. Boiron mentioned that the remaining employees would receive a 15% pay hike. This move follows a similar round of layoffs in February 2023, where approximately 20% of Polygon’s staff, around 100 people at the time, were let go.
The crypto and tech landscape in 2024 has seen a wave of layoffs, with notable companies like BlackRock, the asset manager behind one of the first spot Bitcoin ETFs, planning a 3% reduction in its workforce. Additionally, Jack Dorsey-led Block Inc. reportedly laid off 1,000 employees, adding to the broader trend of job cuts in the industry.
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