When it comes to blockchain gaming, the landscape is still evolving, and so are security concerns. Recently, hackers breached the Ronin network, which is the Etherium blockchain developed by Sky Mavis, the publisher of Axie Infinity.
In an official newsletter, Ronin Network laid out the sequence of events that has, so far, led to a loss of approximately $625 million in cryptocurrency value. On March 23rd, The network was compromised resulting in a substantial amount taken. The problem happened when the hacker used hacked private keys in order to fake access. A user being unable to withdraw from their own funds in Etherium clued everyone in to the issue.
Axie Infinity is a cute game where you can create pets that you can battle with, collect, and earn cryptocurrency. It is scheduled for alpha launch next week, so this comes at an important time. Ronin Network has worked to ease concerns by promising that they are, “committed to ensuring that all of the drained funds are recovered or reimbursed”.
Transactions have been temporarily paused to allow for further investigation. In an update on March 30th, the investigations are ongoing, but they believe that all evidence points to this hack being an external breach. And they vow to continue providing updates, as well as "continuing conversations with our stakeholders to determine the best course of action" in order to follow through on the commitment to reimburse or recover what was stolen.
Given all of this, the game’s social accounts have been posting about the coming launch, so it seems that plans are still set in place for the alpha.
In a quote to CNN, John Reed Stark, a former Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) official, said: “The entire web3 marketplace is so fraught with chaos and lawlessness, we may never learn the truth about what happened. And unlike U.S. financial firms who must report cyber-attacks fairly, accurately, promptly, etc., NFT and other Web3 marketplaces do not have to report anything at all.”
While those who have invested funds into Axie Infinity wait for both the upcoming launch and to hear back about their stolen funds, Stark’s point is an important one.
Thanks for the tip, Torval!
