An American retiree, Brandon, reported the loss of over $3 million in XRP after checking the Ellipal mobile app on October 15, revealing his balance had vanished. He had been accumulating XRP since 2017, intending to use the funds for a future home in Las Vegas. Following the disappearance, he initiated an on-chain tracing effort with analyst ZackXBT. Ellipal stated that Brandon had inadvertently imported his hardware wallet’s seed phrase into the app, compromising his wallet’s security. ZackXBT traced the stolen funds to a new address, noting transactions through the Bridgers service, which used Binance for liquidity. The assets ultimately dispersed to over-the-counter brokers. While Brandon filed a report with the FBI, recovery prospects appear grim, highlighting the dangers of entering a hardware wallet seed into an online app. Users are advised to maintain distinct seeds for hot and cold wallets to prevent future losses.
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