A cross-chain bridge connecting XRP Ledger and tx was drained of nearly 200,000 XRP on Aug. 9 after a software flaw allowed fabricated deposits to be recognized as valid. The stolen amount was worth about $200,000, and the exploit was completed in 97 minutes. According to tx’s statement on X, the bridge software recorded certain transactions as deposits even though no XRP had actually reached the reserve wallet. That gave the attacker unbacked cross-chain XRP, which was then redeemed for real XRP held in reserve. The bridge used 28 relay nodes, with 17 approvals required to authorize a payment. tx said the voting process itself worked as designed. The flaw sat deeper in the relay code: it processed payment transactions carrying bridge memos but failed to verify the destination address first. In practice, relayers treated memo-tagged transactions as deposits without confirming whether XRP had truly been sent into the bridge reserve. Most of the stolen XRP was moved across multiple addresses within hours, according to on-chain analysis from xrpl.to. tx said it has halted the bridge, fixed the bug, hired blockchain forensic specialists to trace the funds, and filed a report with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center, or IC3.

More than 4,585 bitcoin wallet owners were affected by Coinkite’s faulty Coldcard firmware and the compromise of Coldcard hardware wallets, according to Protos. The report says the issue spans devices sold with and without passphrases and traces back to flawed on-device software distributed from March 2021 through late last week. At publication, no hacker had been publicly identified. Protos says affected users should move quickly to protect any remaining funds and preserve evidence for criminal, civil, insurance, and tax-related processes. The outlet points to local police reports as a key first step for US residents, followed by filings with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center, or IC3. It also notes that victims older than 60 with difficulty accessing the IC3 website can call the FBI’s Elder Fraud Hotline at (833) 372-8311. The report also warns victims against follow-on scams. IC3 says it does not work with law firms or crypto recovery services to retrieve funds and will never contact victims directly for information or payment. Beyond criminal complaints, Protos says users may want to ask licensed attorneys about potential civil claims against Coinkite, and consult tax professionals on documenting losses. Coinkite founder Rodolfo Novak, also known as NVK, publicly apologized and said the company would work with affected users seeking police reports, insurance claims, or private investigations.

A 155-page IC3 report finds crypto wallets automate transactions but do not grant AI autonomy; blockchains preserve record integrity, not content provenance; decentralization offers transparency but no bias cure.

FBI IC3 data shows 2025 crypto fraud losses reached $11.366 billion, up 22% from 2024; seniors aged 60+ lost $4.432 billion. Investment scams dominate with $7.277 billion in damages.

The FBI IC3 logged $11.37 billion in crypto-linked losses in 2025, up 22% YoY, with investment scams driving $7.2 billion in damages and seniors aged 60+ losing $4.43 billion.

Senator Smith pushes the CLARITY Act, arguing that open-source developers, validators, and non-custodial wallet providers should not be classified as financial intermediaries. Over 60 crypto executives including Solana co-founder support the bill, which now sits on the Senate legislative calendar.

FBI data shows crypto ATM fraud surged in 2025, with $389 million in losses. Older adults (50+) accounted for nearly 80% of losses. Scammers impersonate agencies and use QR codes.

Ohio investment manager Rathnakishore Giri was sentenced to nine years in prison after U.S. prosecutors said his Bitcoin derivatives Ponzi scheme raised more than $10 million from investors.