Hackers stole $625 million worth of cryptocurrency from the blockchain called Ronin, which powers the NFT-based game Axie Infinity.
According to Motherboard, hackers stole 173,600 Ethereum, which values at roughly $625 million.
Sky Mavis, Axie Infinity game operator, revealed how the breach happened. He explained that the Ronin bridge which allows the exchange of funds froze.
Axie Infinity is a popular game in the crypto universe. It allows players to earn crypto by continuing to play the game.
According to Mavis, hackers were able to sweep large quantities of Ethereum and USDC cryptocurrencies from Ronin after compromising the network nodes.
The heist was discovered on Tuesday when a user tried to withdraw 5,000 Ethereum via the Ronin bridge.
The firm claims the hackers gained access to a backdoor as a result of a holdover from last year. Mavis asked the Axie Decentralised Autonomous Organisation (DAO) to handle transactions for free because of an increase in users back in November.
The deal was meant to last until December, but Mavis forgot to revoke access to it’s blockchain. The hackers were able to get signature through the organization’s open validator.
For safety reasons, no transactions are going through temporarily. Users are unable to withdraw or deposit funds to Ronin Network.
Mavis is committed to ensuring any drained funds are recovered or reimbursed.
The company has since updated it’s security measures.
