Axie Infinity’s network got breached, and hackers fled with more than $600 million

Crypto hacks are increasing, and the latest one targeted the gaming blockchain network that supports the popular game Axie Infinity. This most recent breach is now one of the largest crypto hacks.

The hackers managed to breach the Ronin Network and got away with $625 million in cryptocurrency. The Ronin Network is an independent, Ethereum compatible blockchain developed by Axie Infinity publisher Sky Mavis. 

Axie Infinity co-founder, Jeff Zirlin, discussed the hack at a keynote address at the NFT LA conference. During the address, he announced that the Ronin Network had been exploited for 173 000 Ethereum and $25 million USDC. 

In comparison, Poly Network, a decentralized finance network, was hacked last year, and the hackers got away with $600 million in cryptocurrency. Although the hacker gave the money back afterward, it was known as the largest crypto hack until now. These hacks have brought light to how vulnerable the entire web3 marketplace still is.

Axie Infinity is a web3 in which players use NFT digital pets to interact with other players and the community. Players can use the Axies to battle other players in this community or breed new pets.

Following the latest breach, a blog post has been released onto the Ronin Networks official substack. In this post, players were notified of the violation and were informed that all activity related to converting assets within the Axie universe has been halted. Players who keep digital funds on the Ronin Network also won’t be able to make any transactions until the issues have been solved. However, the company reassured all players that no user funds would be lost.

Currently, the company is working with law enforcement officials, forensic cryptographers, and investors to ensure all the funds are recovered or reimbursed. Despite a 20% drop in the value of the coin following the hack, investors aren’t too concerned at this stage, as a 20% drop in cryptocurrencies is not unheard of. We look forward to seeing how the situation progresses.