Key Takeaways
- BitGo created thousands of XRP wallets daily due to a script malfunction.
- XRPL transaction activity hit its highest levels in over a decade.
- Validators confirmed the issue originated from a drained BitGo wallet.
BitGo’s XRP Wallet Frenzy Raises Eyebrows on the XRPL
BitGo, the crypto custody firm behind the Evernorth wallet activation, has come under scrutiny after exhibiting a wave of unusual on-chain behavior. Over several consecutive days, BitGo’s initialization wallet continuously created thousands of new XRP Ledger (XRPL) addresses, each funded with exactly 1.2225 XRP — just enough to meet the network’s reserve requirement.
Thousands of Wallets Created Every Day
Blockchain data revealed that the BitGo-linked wallet was generating between eight and twelve new wallets per minute, non-stop, for several days. This automation led to the creation of thousands of new XRPL wallets daily. The activity persisted until November 11, when the wallet finally ran out of XRP. Its last successful activation occurred at 14:03 UTC, after which every subsequent transaction failed — yet the creation script kept running until 14:29 UTC.
XRPL Validators Sound the Alarm
Vet, a validator on the XRPL’s default Unique Node List (dUNL), first drew attention to the anomaly on November 7. Vet noted that BitGo had been activating massive batches of accounts over several days, triggering visible spikes in transaction volumes across the ledger.
XRPL Metrics Experience Record Spikes
According to data from XRPScan, the event had a tangible effect on network metrics. AccountSet transactions, which usually average around 300 per day, surged to 14,859 on November 2 — and later peaked at an unprecedented 40,333 on November 6, the highest count since 2014.
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Similarly, the number of newly created accounts, typically around 4,300 per day, spiked to 13,300 by November 11 — the largest increase since January. These figures point to a dramatic, albeit unintentional, stress test of the XRPL’s capacity.
A Faulty Script Behind the Chaos
In a follow-up post, Vet clarified that the cause was likely a malfunctioning BitGo script that entered an infinite loop. Once the wallet’s XRP balance was depleted, the system kept trying to activate new wallets, flooding the ledger with failed transactions.
Conclusion
While the incident appears to stem from a technical glitch rather than a deliberate action, it underscores the importance of automated control safeguards within crypto infrastructure. For XRPL users and developers, BitGo’s episode serves as a reminder: even trusted systems can have ripple effects when automation goes unchecked.
