Axie Infinity’s Ronin Network Hacked Again, This Time For $9.2 Million Worth Of ETH

NFT game Axie Infinity is in the limelight once again as it falls victim to another multi-million-dollar crypto heist. Like the $620 million heist of 2022, hackers were able to gain access to the Ronin Network allowing them to run off with roughly $9.5 million worth of Ethereum (ETH) from multiple personal wallets, two of which belonged to Jeff Zirlin, one of the game’s and Sky Mavis’ co-founders.

The stolen crypto coins were then routed through crypto “launderer” Tornado Cash which mixes funds from multiple users to make it virtually impossible to trace them back to their original source. Zirlin himself confirmed the heist on X and offered assurances that crypto operations were in no way affected. One of Axie Infinity’s co-founders even tried to downplay it as something that happens on every blockchain platform and making it seem like losing $9.2 million is an everyday occurrence.

Crypto operations were indeed affected though as the price of Ronin (RON) dropped by 13% in the aftermath of the latest Axie heist. It’s worth noting that 13% isn’t a lot considering that RON now sits at $3.01 apiece, just a few cents below its original price of $3.17.

“Whatever else you may think about crypto and Axie Infinity, it’s indisputable that this guy ran one of the few genuine successes of our brief delusional NFT cultural phase,” tweeted MMO developer Damion Schubert. “If this guy can be duped out of millions, it’s safe to say that crypto is not ready for prime time.”

This has been a tough morning for me. 

Two of my addresses have been compromised.

The attack is limited to my personal accounts, and has nothing to do with validation or operations of the Ronin chain.

Additionally, the leaked keys have nothing to do with Sky Mavis operations.…

— Jihoz.ron 🦌 (@Jihoz_Axie) February 23, 2024