Ronin Gaming Network Recovers Stolen Ethereum Following $12M Bridge Attack
A recent exploit temporarily halted the bridge between Ethereum and the gaming-focused Ronin sidechain, resulting in the loss of around $12 million worth of assets. However, the majority of the funds have been recovered. The incident, believed to be a “MEV exploit,” was detected early Tuesday by ethical hackers, according to Ronin co-founder Aleksander Larsen. He assured users that despite the exploit, the bridge securing over $850 million in assets remained secure.
Approximately 4,000 ETH and $2 million in USDC stablecoin were taken, totaling the stolen assets to about $12 million. The damage was limited by safeguards that control the size of Ronin withdrawals in a single transaction. Ronin’s team confirmed the return of all the ETH, approximately $10 million, and expected the return of USDC later that day. The white hat hackers who reported the exploit and returned the funds will receive a $500,000 reward.
The exploit was attributed to a problem with a bridge upgrade that misinterpreted the required vote threshold for fund withdrawals. Adrian Hetman, from blockchain security firm Immunefi, highlighted that bridge upgrades can introduce new vulnerabilities that attackers can exploit.
Ronin developers announced that the bridge code will undergo an audit before being reinstated, and plans are in place to shift the bridge operation structure with the help of network validators. Ronin, known for its association with Axie Infinity, has expanded to include games from various studios, including Pixels.
Despite the incident, Ronin’s native token, RON, showed modest impact, with a slight decline followed by a rebound. The token remains up more than 2% over the past day. This is not the first security breach for the Ronin bridge, with previous incidents resulting in significant losses.
MEV bots, designed to exploit blockchain profit opportunities automatically, have sparked controversy due to concerns about fairness, fee increases, and centralization of power. The incident underscores the growing security concerns surrounding blockchain bridges, with over $1.19 billion reported lost to hacks and fraud this year. Immunefi emphasized the importance of implementing robust security measures to protect bridge operations.
The ongoing debate surrounding MEV bots highlights the tension between profit-seeking behavior and blockchain principles of equal access. Ronin representatives declined further comment, with a postmortem report on the attack expected to be released soon.
