Hackers steal $600 million in latest crypto heist

LAGOS (CoinChapter.com) — In another blockchain bridge exploit, hackers have successfully stolen more than $600 million from popular gaming-focused network, Ronin.

The hack which reportedly took place on March 23, led to the loss of 173,600 Ethereum and 25.5 million USDC. The breach which was eventually discovered today saw five out of nine validators on Ronin’s network exploited by the hackers.

Ronin discovered the breach after a user was unable to withdraw 5,000 ether tokens from the network on Tuesday morning.

According to a blog post published by the Ronin Network’s official Substack, the exploit affected Ronin Network validator nodes for Sky Mavis, the publishers of the popular Axie Infinity game, and the Axie DAO.

“Once the attacker got access to Sky Mavis systems they were able to get the signature from the Axie DAO validator by using the gas-free RPC,” Ronin said.

The blockchain network further noted that rigorous investigation has been launched to bring the hackers to justice. It indicated that it will work with government agencies to ensure the culprits are caught and the stolen funds recovered.

Currently at the time of publication Ronin has temporarily halted transactions on its network to ensure no further exploitation takes place. The network also revealed that the hacker’s wallet was funded from Binance. It indicated that the stolen funds have been sent to various crypto exchanges including FTX and Binance.

Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao via his official Twitter handle noted that the exchange will offer assistance in recovering the funds. Blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis, Huobi, Lossless, among other blockchain platforms, has also offered to help catch the culprits.

RON Price Plummeted Following Exploit Announcement

Following news of the hack, Ronin’s native token price plunged significantly. According to Coingecko, RON dropped by 26% within 15 minutes after news of the exploit broke.

Currently, the token was trading at $1.79 with a 24-hour trading volume of $4.7 million and a market cap of $263 million. On the other hand, Axie Infinity native token (AXS) was also by 5% following the exploit news today.

It is also worth noting that both Ronin bridge and Katana DAO have been halted. Additionally, Ronin has assured customers that all AXS, RON, and SLP on the network are safe.

Ronin’s Hack The Second Biggest Crypto Hack Ever                           

Meanwhile, popular blockchain analytics firm Elliptic has pointed out the heist was the second-biggest hack ever.

Poly Network’s $611 million exploit which took place in August 2021 remains the largest ever hack, according to Elliptic. Other notable mentions include $532 million stolen from Coincheck, $460 million from Mt. Gox, $325 million from Wormhole, among others.