Crypto hacks seem to be the order of the day and the latest is that of Ronin Network, the backer of the popular blockchain game Axie Infinity that allows users earn cash while they play games.
In what is being called the largest decentralized finance hack in history, Ronin Network has lost about $615 million in USDC and Ethereum. This hack surpasses that of decentralized finance protocol Poly Network, which lost $610 million to hackers in August last year.
Ronin Network confirmed the hack on its platform in a blog post shared on Tuesday. Axie Infinity’s official Discord and Twitter accounts, as well as Ronin Network’s also confirmed the hack.
The hack was brought to light by a user who was unable to withdraw 5,000 ether. Meanwhile, the attack had happened on the 23rd of March without the platform’s knowledge. As explained in the blog post, the hacker(s) hacked into private keys and forged withdrawals and that other key validator nodes had been tampered with.
Ronin Network says 173,600 ether and 25.5 million worth of USDC were stolen from its network, a total of about $615 million at current prices. The hacker(s) conducted the hack in two transactions which can be viewed on Etherscan.
Per expert opinions from analysts, the money is still on the move. According to Blockchain Intelligence Group, almost $17 million worth of ether has been transferred to exchanges including FTX and Huobi.
Creator of Ronin Network’s Axie Infinity, Sky Mavis, has shown commitment to the recovery of these stolen funds. Although for now, users are unable to make withdrawals, the creator is looking forward to either recovery or reimbursement. Ronin Network, on the other hand, declared that it is “working with law enforcement officials, forensic cryptographers, and our investors to make sure there is no loss of user funds.”
This recent hack reminds us of other recent attacks on cryptocurrency platforms including Poly Network’s $610 million crypto hack case, Crypto.com’s $33 million hack, Bitmart’s $196 million crypto hack case, among others. Makes us wonder which crypto platform may be next.
