Ronin Network Hit for $9.8M in ETH: White Hat Hacker Likely Suspect
Ronin Network has suffered a significant breach, losing $9.8 million worth of Ether (ETH) in what appears to be a sophisticated exploit. This latest incident underscores the rising wave of cryptocurrency hacks in 2024.
The attack resulted in the theft of 3,996 ETH, valued at over $9.8 million. However, there’s a chance that the exploit was conducted by a white hat hacker—an ethical hacker known for identifying vulnerabilities to enhance security. According to an August 6 post on X by PeckShield, the situation might resolve favorably if the attacker is indeed a white hat, as such hackers typically return the stolen funds once vulnerabilities are demonstrated.
Possible White Hat Involvement
White hat hackers often exploit protocols to find and report vulnerabilities, and in many cases, they return the stolen assets. A notable example occurred earlier this year when a hacker returned $71 million worth of stolen crypto following a high-profile breach that led to substantial public exposure and identification of the hacker’s potential IP address.
Was it an MEV Bot?
Adding a twist to the story, the exploit might have been caused by a maximal extractable value (MEV) bot—a tool used by validators to discover arbitrage opportunities in decentralized finance (DeFi). MEV bots can sometimes inadvertently exploit protocol loopholes.
Examining the transaction details on the Ronin bridge reveals that the $9.8 million exploit was executed by MEV bot “0x4ab.” The bot then transferred a portion of the stolen funds (3.9 ETH) to the wallet “0x952,” also known as “beaverbuild,” according to blockchain data.
MEV bots were also behind the $7.6 million Rho Markets exploit in July, though the protocol managed to recover all the missing funds within a week. An August 6 post by Cyvers highlights a message from the Axie Infinity contract deployer thanking the white hat for saving user funds and proposing a conversation via Blockscan chat.
Rising Crypto Hacks in 2024
The year 2024 has already seen a surge in crypto hacks, with the first quarter alone witnessing $542.7 million in stolen assets—an alarming 42% increase from the same period in 2023. July was particularly dire, with the second-largest hack of the year occurring at WazirX, an Indian crypto exchange, resulting in a $230 million loss.
The WazirX hacker has been consolidating the stolen funds, with $57 million worth of ETH moved to new addresses on July 22, likely in an attempt to cash out. Overall, July saw over $266 million in crypto stolen across 16 attacks, with WazirX standing out as the most significant breach.
