"Axie Infinity's" blockchain, Ronin, previously figured in a massive crypto heist, amassing $600 million, which the FBI now accuses North Korean hackers to be behind it.
As per a news story by Aljazeera, the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (US FBI) said that hackers from North Korea were behind one of the largest crypto heists in history.
A participant sits with a laptop computer as he attends the annual Chaos Communication Congress of the Chaos Computer Club at the Berlin Congress Center on December 28, 2010 in Berlin, Germany. The Chaos Computer Club is Europe's biggest network of computer hackers and its annual congress draws up to 3,000 participants.
Axie Infinity's Ronin Crypto Heist
The blockchain project that goes by the name Ronin experienced a recent breach, wherein roughly more than $600 million worth of cryptocurrencies have been stolen by hackers.
The massive crypto heist shocked the world as the blockchain breach involved a large sum of money, making some folks question the security of the whole emerging industry.
According to a recent report by PC Gamer, the NFT game "Axie Infinity" is the known user of the Ronin blockchain project, allowing its players to use the Ethereum blockchain-sans its hefty gas fees.
Ronin has been helping "Axie" gamers to save hundreds if not thousands for Ethereum gas fees that other NFT projects have.
This photo taken on December 15, 2021 shows people using their mobile phones to play Axie Infinity, an NFT game where players earn tokens that can be exchanged for cryptocurrency or cash, in a neighbourhood alley in Malabon, suburban Manila. - Axie Infinity is a blockchain-based play-to-earn game that exploded in popularity in developing nations such as the Philippines as Covid-19 has destroyed jobs and forced many to stay home.
However, the bridge that connects Ronin and Ethereum, which essentially allows "Axie" players to move crypto from the two separate blockchains, was breached last month.
The hackers that exploited the Ronin blockchain pocketed hundreds of millions worth of crypto, including 173,000 Ethereum, along with 25 million of the USDC stable coin.
Read Also: Axie Infinity's Ronin Blockchain Suffered Hacker Breach, Over $625M Worth of Crypto Stolen
FBI: North Korean Hackers Behind Ronin Breach
A few weeks after the Ronin crypto heist, the FBI accuses North Korea-based hackers, which goes by the name Lazarus Group, to be behind one of the largest crypto hacking incidents.
An FBI representative spoke to PC Gamer, saying that its investigation confirmed that Lazarus Group and APT38, were responsible for the Ronin back in the latter part of March.
The US agency went on to note that both APT38 and Lazarus Group are hacking groups that have an association with North Korea.
On top of that, the firm behind "Axie Infinity," said in a Ronin blog post that "the FBI attributed North Korea based Lazarus Group to the Ronin Validator Security Breach."
What's more, the US Treasury Department has already sanctioned the crypto address that received the stolen crypto assets.
Related Article: Former ETH Employee Allegedly Helps North Korea Evade Sanctions Using Crypto-Leading to Five-Year Imprisonment
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Written by Teejay Boris
