White Hat Hacker Secures $500K Bounty for Returning Ronin’s $10M

The Ronin Network experienced a loss of $10 million worth of ETH due to a hack – contributing to the increasing number of Web3 hacks in 2024. This gaming blockchain platform lost 4000 ETH in the incident.

However, there was a happy ending not usually associated with these exploits: the lost ETH has been returned by a white hat hacker who, in turn, received a $500,000 reward from Ronin for their ‘vigilance and integrity’.

Identifying Vulnerabilities: The Role of White Hat Hackers

As per a post dated August 6 by PeckShield, it was speculated that the hack might have been carried out by a hacker known as a white hat hacker. These hackers specialize in identifying vulnerabilities in cryptocurrency systems.

These hackers often return stolen funds once they expose flaws in the code. This held true for the Ronin Network and it was able to recover the assets. In this case, the white hat hacker appears to be the owner of an MEV bot which may have accidentally attacked the Ronin bridge.

The Ronin Bridge, an Ethereum sidechain used for Axie Infinity, was responsible for transferring these assets between the Ronin chain and the Ethereum network. In response to this breach, Aleksander Leonard Larsen, co-founder of Axie Infinity, announced a suspension of operations for investigation.

The recent breach on the Ronin Network involved an MEV bot, a tool used by validators to profit from arbitrage opportunities in finance. While these bots are meant for trading, they can exploit vulnerabilities in protocols, sometimes accidentally, as appears to be the case in the Ronin network breach.

White hat hackers play a role in safeguarding the cryptocurrency ecosystem by pinpointing and addressing security vulnerabilities. Their actions can be instrumental, in strengthening platforms, contracts and crypto wallets against malicious cyber attacks.

This isn’t the first time Ronin Bridge has dealt with hackers; back in 2022, the bridge was hit by a $600 million attack involving compromised validator nodes. To address the breach, developers raised $150 million to compensate affected users and temporarily shut down the bridge for upgrades.

Hope for Recovery

The Axie Infinity team is actively investigating the current situation, implementing measures to beef up security and prevent breaches. With all eyes on the crypto sphere, this incident highlights the importance of security protocols in technology.

According to Ronin, the bridge will be thoroughly inspected before it reopens, and regular updates given as the assessment continues.

The aim is to shift the bridge’s operations away from its current structure, and they are currently working with Ronin validators to introduce a solution.

The Ronin Network breach serves as a reminder of the struggles in safeguarding assets. As Web3 continue to evolve, it’s crucial for the community to stay alert against threats to protect their investments.

Editor’s note: Written with the assistance of AI – Edited and fact-checked by Jason Newey.