Ronin Blockchain Hacked: Cybercriminals Steal Over $600 Million in Cryptocurrency from Axie Infinity Game

Sophisticated cybercriminals exploited vulnerabilities in the security protocols of the Ronin blockchain, the underlying technology behind the well-known virtual game Axie Infinity, to fraudulently acquire approximately $625 million worth of cryptocurrency. The nefarious activities were disclosed by Sky Mavis, the Axie Infinity and Ronin Network operator, in a communication posted on Ronin Network’s official Substack. In response to the security breach, the operator has suspended all transactions on the Ronin Bridge, which facilitates deposits and withdrawals of funds from the blockchain platform.

Sky Mavis has initiated a coordinated effort with law enforcement agencies to reclaim the purloined 173,600 Ethereum (ETH) and 25.5 million USDC, a crypto linked to the US dollar, from the hackers who illicitly obtained the assets on March 23rd. The breach was executed by targeting the bridge that interfaces the Axie Infinity game, which employs non-fungible tokens (NFTs), with various cryptocurrency blockchains, including Ethereum. The bridge enables users to deposit ETH or USDC into the Ronin network, purchase NFTs or virtual in-game currency, and withdraw money earned from selling their in-game possessions.

According to Sky Mavis, the cyber attackers deployed compromised private security keys to gain access to the network nodes that authenticate transfers on the Ronin blockchain, thereby facilitating the large-scale withdrawal of ETH and USDC. The hack remained undetected for almost a week until a user attempted to withdraw 5,000 ETH via the Ronin Bridge. Industry analysts anticipate this heist to be one of the most significant crypto breaches to date.