XRP Ledger Chaos: Exchange Wallet Runs Dry, Flooding Network With Failed Payments
BitGo, a major crypto custodian, confirmed today that one of its XRP wallets ran dry late Tuesday, triggering a wave of automated payment attempts that failed and congested the XRP Ledger. Automated scripts reportedly continued submitting transactions despite insufficient funds, creating thousands of failed payments that increased ledger load and slowed confirmations for other users and services. BitGo says it has identified the cause and initiated mitigation steps to clear the backlog.
The incident highlights operational risks from unsafeguarded automated payout systems and the potential for a single custodial failure to impact network performance. Affected users and counterparties should monitor BitGo's status updates and expect delays on XRPL transfers while queues are processed. The event may prompt exchanges and custodians to reinforce pre-flight balance checks and automated throttling to prevent similar outages.