Ronin Network Exploit Sees $9.8M in Ether Stolen; White Hat Hacker Suspected

YEREVAN (CoinChapter.com) — The Ronin Network recently suffered a loss of 3,996 Ether (ETH), valued at over $9.8 million. The incident, reported by blockchain security firm PeckShield on August 6, highlights a potential vulnerability within the network. The incident may involve a white hat hacker, also known as an ethical hacker, who may return the stolen funds after identifying the security flaw.

A similar situation occurred earlier this year when a hacker returned $71 million worth of stolen crypto after exposing a significant vulnerability.

MEV Bot Extracts $9.8M, Axie Infinity Deployer Confirms

The incident involved a maximal extractable value (MEV) bot, which are tools used by validators in decentralized finance (DeFi) to find arbitrage opportunities. In this case, the MEV bot identified as “0x4ab” conducted the transaction, extracting $9.8 million from the Ronin bridge. Blockchain data shows that the bot then transferred 3.9 ETH to the wallet known as “beaverbuild” (“0x952”).

Cyvers noted in an Aug. 6 post on X that the hack was confirmed to originate from an MEV bot. This information came from a message sent to the address by the deployer of the Axie Infinity contract.

Surge in Crypto Hacks: $542.7M Stolen in Early 2024, July Sees Major Attacks

This incident adds to the increasing number of crypto hacks in 2024. The first quarter saw $542.7 million worth of stolen funds, a 42% increase compared to the same period in 2023. July alone experienced several high-profile hacks, including a $230 million theft from WazirX, an Indian cryptocurrency exchange. The WazirX hacker has since moved $57 million worth of ETH to new addresses.

These recent events underscore the ongoing security challenges faced by the cryptocurrency industry in 2024.

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