Ronin Network, a blockchain project, was reportedly a victim of a cyberattack after hackers managed to steal around $615 million worth of cryptocurrencies, becoming one of the largest crypto heists to date.
According to Reuters, the threat actors hacked the systems on March 23, when they managed to steal 173,600 ETH and 25.5 million USD Coins. At the time of the attack, the cryptos were worth $540 million, but their value has risen to $615 million as of press time.
The heist was the second-biggest hack ever, according to Tom Robinson, the Chief Scientist at blockchain analytics firm Elliptic, in an email quoted by Forbes. Elliptic reports that only a $600 million hack last year of Poly Network has been bigger. Those funds were recovered after a number of crypto exchanges and blockchain firms began tracking identity clues on the blockchain.
According to the NFT market tracker CryptoSlam, Ronin powers the popular online game Axie Infinity, which uses non-fungible tokens. In a blog post, Ronin explained that the hacker stole the passwords required to access the crypto funds and made off with them.
Chainalysis Helping to Recover Funds
“As of right now users are unable to withdraw or deposit funds on Ronin Network. Sky Mavis is committed to ensuring that all of the drained funds are recovered or reimbursed,” the company noted on Tuesday. Sky Mavis does not provide contact information on its website. A LinkedIn message sent by Reuters to the company did not immediately receive a response.
Chainalysis, a major blockchain tracker, is helping Ronin trace the stolen funds. Ronin said the majority of the funds are still in the hacker's digital wallet .
Coincheck, a platform based in Tokyo, was attacked in 2018, resulting in the theft of digital tokens worth some $530 million. Another Japanese exchange, Mt. Gox, collapsed in 2014 after hackers stole half a billion dollars worth of crypto tokens.
