Sky Mavis Recovers $5.7M from Ronin Hack

Sky Mavis, the enterprise renowned for its acclaimed play-to-earn (P2E) game Axie Infinity, has announced a significant recovery of funds related to the infamous Ronin Bridge hack of 2022. The company disclosed that, with the aid of Norwegian authorities, they have managed to recover $5.7 million from the incident. On June 7, Sky Mavis shared that Norway’s central unit for combating economic and environmental crimes, known as “Økokrim,” successfully froze and returned the aforementioned amount linked to the hack.

The recovery process involved extensive cooperation between various entities, including law enforcement, legal experts, accountants, and blockchain forensic specialists such as Chainalysis. Sky Mavis publicly expressed its gratitude to both the Norwegian government and the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for their pivotal roles in tracking and recovering the stolen assets.

Sky Mavis intends to use the reclaimed funds to bolster its financial reserves and address operational costs. The company stated that 15% of the recovered assets would go towards covering expenses incurred by those involved in the recovery efforts, while the remaining 85% would be directed back into the Axie Infinity treasury. This strategic allocation ensures that those who contributed to the recovery are compensated for their efforts.

In addition to the $5.7 million already recovered, Sky Mavis revealed that authorities have frozen an additional $40 million in digital assets associated with the hack. The timeline for reclaiming these assets remains uncertain, and the gaming company acknowledged that the recovery process could be prolonged.

The Ronin Bridge hack remains one of the most significant security breaches in the cryptocurrency sector. On March 29, 2022, the Ronin network reported a breach affecting its Ronin Bridge, a protocol designed for transferring assets from Ethereum to Ronin. The attacker exploited hacked private keys to initiate fake withdrawals, resulting in the theft of 173,600 Ether (ETH) and 25.5 million USD Coin (USDC). At the time of the breach, these assets were valued at a staggering $612 million.

In response to the hack, Sky Mavis raised $150 million in April 2022 to compensate affected users. This funding round was spearheaded by the crypto exchange Binance. Since then, the company has taken measures to enhance the security of the Ronin blockchain, including partnerships with additional validators such as Google Cloud.

Despite the setback from the security breach, the Ronin blockchain maintains its status as a leading platform for nonfungible tokens (NFTs). It currently ranks as the third top blockchain by all-time NFT sales, trailing only Solana and Ethereum. This resilience highlights the ongoing trust and participation in the Ronin ecosystem.

Sky Mavis’s continued efforts to recover assets and strengthen blockchain security reaffirm its commitment to the Axie Infinity community. By securing financial resources and compensating contributors, the company aims to rebuild confidence and ensure the longevity of its popular platform amidst a dynamic and often volatile cryptocurrency landscape.