The crypto world was recently rocked by one of the largest thefts in Web3 history, involving a $625 million exploit from Ronin, the blockchain behind the immensely popular Axie Infinity play-to-earn game.
Axie creator Sky Mavis in a blog post noted that the exploit resulted in losses of approximately 173,600 Ether and 25.5 million USD Coins, a stablecoin tethered to the US Dollar, totaling more over $625 million.
Parallel to the rise in interest in cryptocurrencies, there has been a strong increase in digital theft and hacking. A lot of tech-savvy burglars have shown up in the modern era of technology.
The crypto community is perplexed by the attacker’s digital money laundering strategy. They do, however, advise investors to be extra careful and protective of their digital investments.
For crypto traders, having complete control over their tokens is critical. According to crypto experts, one cannot trust totally on an exchange or any service provider for the tokens they own.
According to market analysts, the hack occurred and went unnoticed for nearly six days until a random trader examined the chain data. The market experts said that the security team could have implemented stronger protection and detection measures.
It is possible to hunt down the perpetrators with the help of skilled cryptographers and firms. BitsCrunch and Chainalysis are two companies that aid with both prevention and tracking of such situations.
Observers reported immediately after the attack that the hacker used centralised exchanges to fund the attack address, that launched the attack and that they had been depositing thousands of ETH to numerous exchanges.
According to one intriguing argument surrounding the move, such exchanges include KYC verification mechanisms, and the deposits can be used to determine the hacker’s identity and forfeit the funds. Not everyone, though, agrees.