Fake XRP staking scam steals US$8.5M

• A fraudulent staking website has stolen about US$8.5 million worth of XRP (CRYPTO:XRP) from dozens of investors.
• The scam lured victims by promising high staking yields despite XRP not supporting native staking.
• Blockchain investigators have linked the losses to a sophisticated phishing operation.

A fraudulent website posing as an XRP (CRYPTO:XRP) staking platform has stolen approximately US$8.5 million from dozens of investors after promising easy returns through fake staking rewards.

Blockchain investigators said the scam convinced victims to transfer their XRP by advertising attractive yields, even though the XRP Ledger does not offer native staking.

Researchers said the operation relied on phishing techniques and deceptive marketing to persuade users to connect their wallets and send their tokens to attacker-controlled addresses.

The incident highlights how scammers continue to exploit investor interest in passive crypto income by promoting products that appear legitimate but have no connection to the underlying blockchain.

Security experts have repeatedly warned that offers of XRP staking should be treated with caution because the XRP Ledger does not provide native staking in the same way as proof-of-stake blockchains.

The latest theft adds to a growing number of cryptocurrency scams that target investors through fake investment platforms, phishing websites and fraudulent yield-generating schemes.

At the time of reporting, XRP price was $1.08.