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    Hacker Hit Blockchain Powering Axie Infinity, Stealing More Than $600 Million

    This attack is making one of the largest crypto-thief to date amid rising rates of such crime.

    The latest crypto hack breached the Ronin Network, an independent and Ethereum-compatible blockchain developed by Axie Infinity publisher Sky Mavis. Hackers made off with about $625 million worth of Ethereum and USDC, two cryptocurrencies. 

    Ronin Network

    Jeff Zirlin, Axie Infinity co-founder, discussed this attack on stage during the NFT LA conference.

    “We realized the Ronin network has been exploited for 173,000 [Ethereum] and around 25 million dollars in USDC,” Zirlin said. “It is one of the bigger hacks in history,” he added. 

    Axie Infinity is no doubt one of the top-notch NFTs at the moment. In the game, players buy creature-centric NFTs to join the game and then spend more crypto to acquire and breed various beasts. The NFTs have both in-universe and real-world value, adding a kind of digital-money buzz to traditional gameplay.

    In confront with the current situation, Ronin Network has halted activities that allow players to convert assets in Axie Infinity and to convert currency between the Ethereum and Ronin blockchains. All transactions on the network are currently unable to process.

    Most of the stolen funds currently remain in the hacker’s crypto wallet. Sky Mavis and Ronin “are working directly with various government agencies to ensure the criminals get brought to justice.” They pledged to “ensure no users funds are lost.”

    Also at the NFT LA conference, some attendees shared their thought about the hack. 

    “I don’t think the coin is going down too bad,” said Justin Seeley, who owns Axie Infinity NFTs and tokens, said, referring to Axie Infinity’s Ronin token that was had plummeted 20% on the news of the hack.

    “Twenty percent … that’s not too bad. Other projects would be down way worse,” added Ben Wright, one of Axie’s investors. 

    “We’re in crypto; 20% is nothing,” said Seeley.

    Other NFT games at the conference were surprised to learn the news. 

    “Axie got hacked!” two workers told each other in disbelief at a booth for Polker, a P2E poker game.

    “It worries me, but I like it,” said Conor Thacker, Polker’s managing director. “The more exploits that happen now, the less will happen in the future.”

    Mentioned the latest crypto swipe, John Reed Stark, a former chief of the Security and Exchange Commission’s Office of Internet Enforcement, told CNN ” this attack is a sobering reminder of just how vulnerable Web3 marketplaces are to cyber attacks.” 

    “The entire web3 marketplace is so fraught with chaos and lawlessness, we may never learn the truth about what happened,” said Stark. “And unlike U.S. financial firms who must report cyber-attacks fairly, accurately, promptly, etc., NFT and other Web3 marketplaces do not have to report anything at all.”

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