Breaking: Ronin Network Bridge Faces Hack With $12M Ethereum, USDC Stolen

In a significant blow to the Ronin Network, the blockchain bridge has reportedly faced a hacked. It has resulted in the theft of approximately $12 million in Ethereum (ETH) and USD Coin (USDC). The Ronin bridge hack marks yet another chapter in the troubled history of the network, which previously suffered a devastating $600 million hack in March 2022.

Ronin Bridge Hack Details

According to a post by Peck Shield Alert, an on-chain analytics tracker, two suspicious transactions were detected on the Ronin bridge. The first transaction involved the movement of 3,996 ETH, valued at around $9.86 million at press time. Moreover, the second transaction saw the shifting of nearly 2 million USDC tokens.

These transactions raise the total stolen amount to $12 million, prompting immediate action from the Ronin Network team. In response to the detected exploit, the Ronin bridge was promptly paused to prevent further losses.

Alexander Larsen, co-founder and COO of Axie Infinity and Ronin Network, addressed the situation on X. He stated, “The Ronin Network bridge has been paused while we investigate a report from whitehats about a potential MEV exploit. We will follow up with more information shortly. The bridge currently secures over $850M which is safe.”

The latest breach adds to a series of security incidents plaguing the Ronin Network. Crypto sleuth ZachXBT highlighted the network’s troubled history. He spotlighted the $600 million hack in 2022. Moreover, he underscored the breach of Axie Infinity and Ronin Network co-founder Jeff “Jihoz” Zirlin’s wallets that resulted in $10 million crypto hack.

As the Ronin bridge hack investigation unfolds, some market experts speculate that the current incident may be a whitehat hack, where ethical hackers identify and report vulnerabilities to help secure the network. However, no official confirmation has been provided regarding the nature of the hack. Moreover, Larsen’s comment clearly signals an MEV exploit and rejects the involvement of whitehats.

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Recent Crypto Exploits

In July 2024, the crypto sector faced a staggering 16 hacking incidents. These exploits led to an estimated $266 million in losses, excluding a potential governance attack on Compound. The largest breach hit WazirX, a centralized finance platform, resulting in a $230 million loss.

The WazirX hack alone accounted for the majority of the financial damage observed during the month. Other notable attacks included LI.FI, which suffered a $9.73 million loss, and Bittensor, which saw $8 million stolen.

Moreover, several smaller platforms also fell victim to these cyber assaults. RhoMarkets and DeltaPrime experienced breaches but were able to recover some of the stolen funds, with RhoMarkets reclaiming $7.6 million and DeltaPrime $900,000 out of the $1 million taken.

In the latest update on WazirX hack, the exchange has filed an FIR regarding the multisig wallet breach. Meanwhile, the exchange is looking for possible solutions on reinstating withdrawals and trading on the platform. However, no progress has been made toward recovery of stolen crypto funds at the moment.

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