Axie Infinity sidechain loses $620m in possible largest-ever crypto heist

Ronin Network, the Ethereum sidechain of popular crypto game Axie Infinity, announced that it has suffered a security breach, resulting in the theft of 173,600 ether and about US$25.5 million in USDC stable coins.

The stolen tokens amount to US$620 million in total, possibly making this the largest crypto hacks of all time.

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“The attacker used hacked private keys in order to forge fake withdrawals. We discovered the attack this morning after a report from a user being unable to withdraw 5,000 ETH,” the announcement said. The breach was discovered seven days after it happened.

Ronin Network is now working with unnamed government agencies to “ensure the criminals get brought to justice.”

It is also working on ways to ensure that no users’ funds are lost, although it’s unclear at the moment how that will be achieved. The stolen funds have not been moved from the hacker’s wallet, said Ronin Network.

Other tokens in the network like Axie Infinity Shards, Ronin Coin, and Small Love Potion remain safe.

The Ronin Network was created specifically to allow Axie Infinity to perform transactions at low fees without taxing the main Ethereum network.

See also: Axie Infinity players are using SLPs in real life