Hackers steal $615Mn in crypto from Ronin Network

Hackers stole more than $615 million worth of ether and USDC from the Ronin Network, a sidechain of the Ethereum blockchain. The stolen funds amounted to $540 million at the time of attack but increased to $615 million.

The theft occurred last week when the attackers used hacked private keys to forge fake withdrawals through a backdoor route, draining 173,600 ether and 25.5M of the stable coin, USD coin. The attackers gained a signature through a backdoor loophole offered by the play-to-earn game’s decentralized autonomous organization.

The Ronin Network said, “As of right now users are unable to withdraw or deposit funds to the Ronin Network. Sky Mavis is committed to ensuring that all of the drained funds are recovered or reimbursed.”

It further informed that it is working with law enforcement as well as the blockchain forensic firm, Chainalysis, and has taken the necessary steps to shore up future security breaches that could occur by the same route.

A side chain of the Ethereum blockchain, the Ronin Network, is used primarily as the payment rails for the popular play-to-earn game, Axie Infinity, offering game players cheaper transaction fees. Since the announcement of the theft, the Ronin Network’s native cryptocurrency, Ronin (RON), has fallen 21% on the day from $2.30 to $1.80 per coin.