Axie Infinity-Linked “Ronin Bridge” Hacked In Record-Breaking Theft
Axie Infinity ($AXIE.NFT) set the standard for what “play-to-earn” (P2E) games on the blockchain could look like — the multi-billion dollar ecosystem they’ve built includes thousands of NFTs, two ERC-20 tokens (which are collectively worth billions in market cap), and a community base rivaling even major blockchains.
Unfortunately, the P2E giant missed the mark on one thing — security. The game was exploited for 173,600 Ethereum and $25.5 million USDC. The culprit? The bridge that helps money move between Ethereum and the game’s blockchain, a side-chain called Ronin. Perhaps even more embarrassingly, Axie Infinity didn’t even notice the hack for days. Oof.