The $600 million Axie heist
The blockchain was breached, yet again. (Photo: wallpaper.com)
Axie gets axed
The latest crypto hack has targeted a gaming-focused blockchain network that supports the popular online game Axie Infinity. In one of the biggest crypto heists of all time, hackers stole over $600 million (P31.9 billion) worth of Ethereum and USDC, two cryptocurrencies.
The hackers breached the Ronin Network, an independent Ethereum-compatible blockchain developed by Axie Infinity publisher and Singapore-based game studio Sky Mavis. According to an official Ronin blog post, beginning on March 23, attackers compromised private keys used to validate transactions on the network. These keys allowed the thieves to forge fake withdrawals.
The hostile activity went unnoticed until a user was unable to withdraw funds, and filed a report nearly six days after. The haul was valued at $545 million when it was stolen on March 23, but was worth around $615 million based on prices Tuesday, making it one of the largest thefts ever in the crypto world.
"Most of the hacked funds are still in the hacker's wallet," Ronin revealed in a post about the theft. "We know trust needs to be earned and we’re using every resource to deploy the most sophisticated security measures to prevent future attacks," the group added.
Sky Mavis has since pledged to reimburse players.
This hack eclipses the theft of $611 million from decentralized finance (DeFi) platform Poly Network that happened last August.
100% security is a myth
About 40% of Axie Infinity traffic—and the biggest share of its 2.5 million daily active players—comes from the Philippines. “High proficiency in English, strong gaming culture, and widespread smartphone usage have fueled its popularity,” Axie publisher Sky Mavis said.
Nix Eniego, Axie Infinity Philippines lead, said the company is working to ensure that no users’ funds are lost.
"Everybody who is playing Axie doesn’t have a choice because their assets are already in that ecosystem and all that’s left now is just to have faith in the promise of Sky Mavis, that they will make everybody whole, and that going forward, they will improve their security,” said Filipino Axie player Richard Laig.
One of Blockchain technology’s big promises is enhanced security, but so far its track record has been proving otherwise. This raises what’s on everyone’s mind: How secure and safe are NFT investments? And, what does this mean for the Philippines, the leading force in adopting NFTs globally?
When technology that’s touted as a “secure” way of storing information gets hacked, it stirs FUD. People get scared, they start selling their investments. The prices of coins that are affected plummet. While retail investors and newbies head for the exit, others see it as a chance to buy more because of the low prices.
Opportunity or misfortune? That’s up to you to decide.
