The attackers made off with millions in cryptocurrency.
Photo by Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty ImagesHackers made off with over $600 million worth of cryptocurrency after an attack on a network that supports the popular blockchain video game Axie Infinity. The Ronin network is used as a bridge between the video game and blockchains, essentially to transfer cryptocurrency in and out of the game.
The Ronin network, a blockchain developed by Sky Mavis, the same company that owns Axie Infinity, confirmed the hack in a blog post on Tuesday and clarified the hack took place six day prior on March 23, as reported earlier by Reuters.
The attackers made off with 173,600 ether and 25.5 million usd coin, according to Ronin’s blog post. The attack was also confirmed on Axie Infinity’s Twitter page. Ronin said in its blog post that it is working with Chainalsys, a blockchain tracing firm, to track the stolen funds.
Axie Infinity is a Pokemon-like video game played on a computer where players breed and battle digital monsters called “axies” that are linked to non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Players can earn cryptocurrency in the game, which can be traded on some cryptocurrency exchanges outside of the game.
In 2021, $3.5 billion in NFTs passed through Axie Infinity, according to Business Insider India. The stability of Axie Infinity has been called into question, as the game’s economy may require new players to buy in to keep it afloat.
Sky Mavis could not be reached for comment.
