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A US investor says he lost $3 million in XRP after hackers emptied his wallet, and blockchain tracking suggests the funds moved fast through shadowy over-the-counter networks tied to Southeast Asia.
Funds Traced To OTC Networks
According to blockchain sleuth ZachXBT, the stolen coins were first pooled into a single Tron address and then pushed through OTC services linked to an illicit marketplace known as Huione Guarantee.
Reports have disclosed that Huione Guarantee is tied to a range of criminal activity, and that once funds enter those channels they are very hard to recover.
The trace provides a clear record of movement on public ledgers, but it does not guarantee that law enforcement can follow the money to its final holders.
9/ Unfortunately the likelihood of this victim seeing any funds recovered is rather low due to a delay in reporting the theft to competent people within the private sector.
I recommend victims try to report theft addresses to people as soon as possible as otherwise it can be… pic.twitter.com/Ficcit611f
— ZachXBT (@zachxbt) October 19, 2025
Victim Says He Followed Best Practices
Brandon LaRoque, the investor at the center of the case, told viewers that he had built his position over eight years and held about 1.2 million XRP.
He posted a video this week explaining the loss, which has drawn wide attention online. “I thought I did all the things right,” he said, after describing how his Ellipal device turned out to be connected to the internet.
The device maker, Ellipal, acknowledged that the seed phrase was imported into an app and said it was doing everything possible to help.
Based on reports, the company suggested the theft followed a misuse of the seed rather than a flaw in a strictly offline product.
A Human Cost
LaRoque said he and his wife retired about a year ago and were planning to buy a house in Las Vegas. Now they say they may need to return to work.
The loss is a stark example of how long-term small investors can be swept away by a single security lapse. The emotional impact is real.
Many viewers on social platforms have offered help, but experts warn that public attention does not equal recovery.
Experts Urge Caution On Recovery Firms
According to ZachXBT, victims who want to pursue recovery must move quickly and seek competent private investigators, while avoiding predatory firms that promise guaranteed returns.
Tracing on the blockchain can show where funds went next, and it can expose links to mixing services or OTC desks, but converting that trace into arrests or asset returns is complex.
In the US, access to specialized crypto law enforcement is limited, which reduces the odds of successful recovery in many cross-border theft cases.
Institutional Activity Rises As Retail Losses Persist
Meanwhile, XRP has seen notable activity in regulated markets. Reports show more than 476,000 XRP futures contracts traded since May 2025, totaling $23.7 billion.
Open interest has reached $1.4 billion, and the number of large institutional investors hit a record of 29.
Featured image from Gemini, chart from TradingView
