{"id":79408,"date":"2026-10-12T15:57:14","date_gmt":"2026-10-12T15:57:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/sleuth-zachxbt-blasts-ripples-cheap-250k-payout-for-18t-xrp-bug\/"},"modified":"2026-10-12T15:57:14","modified_gmt":"2026-10-12T15:57:14","slug":"sleuth-zachxbt-blasts-ripples-cheap-250k-payout-for-18t-xrp-bug","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/sleuth-zachxbt-blasts-ripples-cheap-250k-payout-for-18t-xrp-bug\/","title":{"rendered":"Sleuth ZachXBT Blasts Ripple&#8217;s Cheap $250K Payout for 18T XRP Bug"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><b>(Originally posted on : Bitcoin News )<\/b><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"@container mb-[25px] rounded-sm overflow-clip py-0.5 pr-0.5 pl-2.5 bg-success-100\">\n<div class=\"flex flex-col gap-m overflow-clip rounded-[6px] !bg-success-10 p-3 @[420px]:p-m\">\n<h2 class=\"m-0 flex items-center gap-s text-[19px] !text-[#1c1c1c] md:text-[20px]\"><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"16\" height=\"10\" viewbox=\"0 0 16 10\" fill=\"none\" class=\"shrink-0 text-success-100\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><path d=\"M1 1.5h14\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2.5\" stroke-linecap=\"round\"\/><path d=\"M1 8.5h10\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2.5\" stroke-linecap=\"round\"\/><\/svg><span>Key Takeaways<\/span><\/h2>\n<ul class=\"m-0 flex list-none flex-col gap-m pl-0\">\n<li class=\"m-0 flex items-start gap-s !text-[#434248]\"><span class=\"mt-2 size-2 shrink-0 rounded-full bg-success-100\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\/><span class=\"text-body\">ZachXBT slammed a $250K reward for a critical XRP bug that could have minted 18 trillion new tokens.<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"m-0 flex items-start gap-s !text-[#434248]\"><span class=\"mt-2 size-2 shrink-0 rounded-full bg-success-100\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\/><span class=\"text-body\">An AI-found flaw threatening XRP\u2019s supply cap was quickly patched before any tokens could be exploited.<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"m-0 flex items-start gap-s !text-[#434248]\"><span class=\"mt-2 size-2 shrink-0 rounded-full bg-success-100\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\/><span class=\"text-body\">ZachXBT warned low rewards incentivize hacks, prompting the XRP Foundation to rethink its bounty sizes.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2>ZachXBT Criticizes \u2018Cheap\u2019 $250K Reward to XRP Infinite Supply Bug<\/h2>\n<p>Blockchain security and the value of critical bug bounties are being debated publicly, with the XRP Ledger Foundation at the center of it.<\/p>\n<p>ZachXBT, the renowned and controversial blockchain sleuth who recently announced he had <span style=\"box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px\"><a href=\"https:\/\/news.bitcoin.com\/crypto-news\/zachxbt-infiltrates-crypto-syndicate-tied-to-1-5b-bybit-hack\/\">infiltrated<\/a><\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/news.bitcoin.com\/crypto-news\/zachxbt-infiltrates-crypto-syndicate-tied-to-1-5b-bybit-hack\/\"> a Chinese crypto money laundering group<\/a>, has criticized how Ripple and the Ripple Ledger Foundation treated the white-hat researchers who disclosed a critical bug that, if exploited, could have caused a disaster for XRP\u2019s market capitalization.<\/p>\n<p>The bug, present in XRP\u2019s codebase for over a decade, would have enabled an attacker to issue 18 trillion XRP out of thin air with a single transaction, 184 times the currency\u2019s fixed total supply (100 billion tokens). The bug was reported and confirmed on September 22; a fix was coded and released on September 25, before over 80% of validators upgraded to the new version, rendering the exploit useless.<\/p>\n<p>As a reward for his work on this bug, Caydel Liao, co-founder of Veria Labs, was awarded $250K, the maximum offered by the Ripple Team\u2019s bug bounty program. On social media, Liao stated that he believed this was the largest ever paid out for a vulnerability discovered entirely by an AI agent.<\/p>\n<p>Nonetheless, ZachXBT stated this amount was insufficient due to the severity and potential impact of the bug reported.<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201cCheaply paying the whitehat $250K for a critical infinite XRP supply bug when your treasury has billions? Thanks for helping ensure the next time an attacker exploits it for 9 figures instead of reporting it in good faith.\u201d<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/zachxbt\/status\/2109551000982040577?s=20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">ZachXBT assessed<\/a>, stressing that this contributed to fostering negative views towards Ripple as a serious organization.<\/p>\n<p>Vet, a contributor to the XRP Ledger Foundation, agreed with ZachXBT\u2019s POV, highlighting that they were strengthening the bug bounty program. He also disclosed that the foundation had reached commercial agreements with bug bounty hunters beyond the bounty program.<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201cWe have to make sure the incentive structure stays attractive with the value at risk. At the end we want to support white hats, that\u2019s much better than dealing with Lazarus,\u201d<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/Vet_X0\/status\/2109617820367818755?s=20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">he concluded,<\/a> but he did not disclose additional rewards in this specific case.<\/p>\n<p>In August, ZachXBT <a href=\"https:\/\/news.bitcoin.com\/security\/zachxbt-declines-trace-coldcard-hack\/\">refused to offer tracing support to victims of the ColdCard exploit<\/a>, explaining that his time was focused on ecosystems that valued his work.<\/p>\n<div class=\"not-prose my-3 lg:my-4\">\n<div class=\"overflow-hidden rounded-lg !bg-[#E8EDFA] p-[9px] hidden md:flex md:flex-row md:gap-3 lg:hidden\"><a aria-hidden=\"true\" tabindex=\"-1\" class=\"relative size-[150px] min-w-[150px] shrink-0 overflow-hidden rounded-[15px]\" href=\"https:\/\/news.bitcoin.com\/zachxbt-exposes-canada-as-worst-global-hotspot-for-crypto-fraud\/\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"absolute left-2 top-2\"><img alt=\"Bitcoin.com News\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"28\" height=\"28\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"size-7\" style=\"color:transparent\" srcset=\"\/_next\/image\/?url=%2Fimages%2Fuploads%2Fbitcoin_news_newlogo.svg&amp;w=32&amp;q=75 1x, \/_next\/image\/?url=%2Fimages%2Fuploads%2Fbitcoin_news_newlogo.svg&amp;w=64&amp;q=75 2x\" src=\"https:\/\/news.bitcoin.com\/_next\/image\/?url=%2Fimages%2Fuploads%2Fbitcoin_news_newlogo.svg&amp;w=64&amp;q=75\"\/><\/div>\n<p><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"overflow-hidden rounded-lg !bg-[#E8EDFA] p-[9px] hidden lg:flex lg:flex-row lg:gap-4\"><a aria-hidden=\"true\" tabindex=\"-1\" class=\"relative size-[150px] min-w-[150px] shrink-0 overflow-hidden rounded-[15px]\" href=\"https:\/\/news.bitcoin.com\/zachxbt-exposes-canada-as-worst-global-hotspot-for-crypto-fraud\/\"><img alt=\"ZachXBT Exposes Canada as Worst Global Hotspot for Crypto Fraud\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"fill\" class=\"object-cover\" style=\"position:absolute;height:100%;width:100%;left:0;top:0;right:0;bottom:0;color:transparent\" sizes=\"150px\" srcset=\"\/_next\/image\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fstatic.news.bitcoin.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2026%2F08%2Fzachxbt-exposes-canada-as-worst-global-hotspot-for-crypto-fraud-150x150.png&amp;w=32&amp;q=75 32w, \/_next\/image\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fstatic.news.bitcoin.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2026%2F08%2Fzachxbt-exposes-canada-as-worst-global-hotspot-for-crypto-fraud-150x150.png&amp;w=48&amp;q=75 48w, \/_next\/image\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fstatic.news.bitcoin.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2026%2F08%2Fzachxbt-exposes-canada-as-worst-global-hotspot-for-crypto-fraud-150x150.png&amp;w=64&amp;q=75 64w, \/_next\/image\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fstatic.news.bitcoin.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2026%2F08%2Fzachxbt-exposes-canada-as-worst-global-hotspot-for-crypto-fraud-150x150.png&amp;w=128&amp;q=75 128w, \/_next\/image\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fstatic.news.bitcoin.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2026%2F08%2Fzachxbt-exposes-canada-as-worst-global-hotspot-for-crypto-fraud-150x150.png&amp;w=256&amp;q=75 256w, \/_next\/image\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fstatic.news.bitcoin.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2026%2F08%2Fzachxbt-exposes-canada-as-worst-global-hotspot-for-crypto-fraud-150x150.png&amp;w=384&amp;q=75 384w, \/_next\/image\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fstatic.news.bitcoin.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2026%2F08%2Fzachxbt-exposes-canada-as-worst-global-hotspot-for-crypto-fraud-150x150.png&amp;w=640&amp;q=75 640w, \/_next\/image\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fstatic.news.bitcoin.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2026%2F08%2Fzachxbt-exposes-canada-as-worst-global-hotspot-for-crypto-fraud-150x150.png&amp;w=828&amp;q=75 828w, \/_next\/image\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fstatic.news.bitcoin.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2026%2F08%2Fzachxbt-exposes-canada-as-worst-global-hotspot-for-crypto-fraud-150x150.png&amp;w=1080&amp;q=75 1080w, \/_next\/image\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fstatic.news.bitcoin.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2026%2F08%2Fzachxbt-exposes-canada-as-worst-global-hotspot-for-crypto-fraud-150x150.png&amp;w=1200&amp;q=75 1200w, \/_next\/image\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fstatic.news.bitcoin.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2026%2F08%2Fzachxbt-exposes-canada-as-worst-global-hotspot-for-crypto-fraud-150x150.png&amp;w=1920&amp;q=75 1920w\" src=\"https:\/\/news.bitcoin.com\/_next\/image\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fstatic.news.bitcoin.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2026%2F08%2Fzachxbt-exposes-canada-as-worst-global-hotspot-for-crypto-fraud-150x150.png&amp;w=1920&amp;q=75\"\/><\/p>\n<div class=\"absolute left-2 top-2\"><img alt=\"Bitcoin.com News\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"28\" height=\"28\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"size-7\" style=\"color:transparent\" srcset=\"\/_next\/image\/?url=%2Fimages%2Fuploads%2Fbitcoin_news_newlogo.svg&amp;w=32&amp;q=75 1x, \/_next\/image\/?url=%2Fimages%2Fuploads%2Fbitcoin_news_newlogo.svg&amp;w=64&amp;q=75 2x\" src=\"https:\/\/news.bitcoin.com\/_next\/image\/?url=%2Fimages%2Fuploads%2Fbitcoin_news_newlogo.svg&amp;w=64&amp;q=75\"\/><\/div>\n<p><\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"flex min-w-0 flex-1 flex-col justify-center gap-2\">\n<p class=\"m-0 line-clamp-2 text-base leading-[1.3] !text-[#67656E]\">ZachXBT pointed out that Canada was the worst jurisdiction for crypto crime victims and pinpointed Toronto as one of the\u2026<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/news.bitcoin.com\/security\/sleuth-zachxbt-blasts-ripples-cheap-250k-payout-for-18t-xrp-bug\/\">Source link <\/a><br \/>\n<br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>(Originally posted on : Bitcoin News ) Key Takeaways ZachXBT slammed a $250K reward for a critical XRP bug that could have minted 18 trillion new tokens. An AI-found flaw threatening XRP\u2019s supply cap was quickly patched before any tokens could be exploited. ZachXBT warned low rewards incentivize hacks, prompting the XRP Foundation to rethink [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":79409,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[32],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79408"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=79408"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79408\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/79409"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=79408"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=79408"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=79408"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}