Ronin Network Exploited Again, $9.8M in ETH Stolen
By Pratik Bhuyan November 1, 2024
Introduction
The Ronin Network, the blockchain behind the popular game Axie Infinity, has been exploited once again, with over $9.8 million worth of ETH drained from the Ronin Bridge. This latest incident comes just over two years after the network suffered a devastating $600 million hack in March 2022.
The Exploit
The Ronin Bridge, which allows users to transfer assets between the Ronin blockchain and Ethereum, has been temporarily paused as the team investigates the exploit. According to reports, the funds were drained by a single transaction, and involved the movement of 3,996 ETH, approximately valued at $9.8 million, along with nearly 2 million USDC tokens.
The attack reportedly originated from a maximal extractable value (MEV) bot, a program that profits by rearranging and reordering blockchain transactions. This has raised the suspicion that the exploit might be the work of a “white hat” hacker. White hat hackers often identify vulnerabilities to help improve security or to frontrun a bad actor trying to steal funds, usually returning the stolen funds once the flaw is demonstrated.
The Aftermath
There’s speculation that this could be the work of a white hat hacker—an ethical group of professional hackers who expose security flaws to help companies patch things up. Aleksander Larsen, Ronin's COO, assured everyone that while the hack is serious, the bridge's $850 million in assets is still safe. They're investigating the incident thoroughly to figure out exactly what went down.
The recent attacks have cast a spotlight on the network's governance, sparking concerns due to its centralized nature. The Ronin Bridge isn't decentralized; the team acts as the sole validators and operates the bridge exclusively to their own chain.
Summarizing the numerous hacks experienced by Ronin, prominent online crypto sleuth ZachXBT shared his thoughts after the most recent breach, stating that:
“Axie/Ronin is a cursed project I swear
-Ronin bridge $600M hack March 2022
-Axie/Ronin co-founder $9.7M hack February 2024
-Now this bridge incident”
Ronin Token Stays Resilient
Ronin’s native token, RON, and Axie Infinity’s $AXIE have remained resilient despite the recent exploit. At the time of writing, both tokens have risen by 10%, joining the broader market recovery. This recovery comes after a significant downturn caused by recession fears and the global market turmoil linked to Japan's infamous carry trade.
