Axie Infinity, the crypto gaming platform behind Norwegian Alexander Leonard Larsen, among others, is linked to what is being described as perhaps the largest hacker attack ever in the field of decentralized finance (Defi).
On Tuesday, it became known that Ronin Network, the program that handles deposits and asset withdrawals for Axie Infinity users, was attacked last week.
It is said that hackers used fake authentication keys and then received fake withdrawals. The attack was not discovered until Tuesday of this week, when another user did not complete their withdrawal.
In total, the Ronin network was lost to the hackers for 173,600 Ethereum and 25.5 million in the USDC stack, which in total amounts to about $615 million. This comes to about 5.3 billion NOK.
So-called stash currencies, such as USDC, are cryptocurrencies tied to an external asset, in this case the US dollar. The purpose is, among other things, to reduce the volatility that traditional cryptocurrencies often encounter.
Alexander Leonard Larsen is co-founder of the pet game Axie Infinity. On Tuesday, it became known that a subnet of the crypto platform had been hacked. Here is a photo of Larsen in 2019 (Photo: Per Ståle Bugjerde)
The incident was confirmed by Axie Infinity in a blog post, and both mentioned it CNBC And the financial times.
“We now have an overview of the attack and are working to gather information to various government agencies so they can facilitate their work,” Larsen wrote in a text message to DN Tuesday night. It also refers to the blog post published on the Ronin Network website.
Probably the biggest attack in history
male dn Axie Infinity no later than November 2019, when the company raised 13 million NOK to accelerate growth. Norske Larsen built the platform with three Vietnamese and one American.
Axie Infinity is built on blockchain technology where you can buy and sell crypto pets (axes) and virtual land. Axie Infinity was developed by Sky Mavis.
In the blog post, Axie Infinity writes that it is in contact with “the relevant authorities” to ensure that the perpetrators are caught, and that work is also underway to track down the stolen assets. Parent company Sky Mavis further says it will ensure that lost assets are returned or replaced.
Until further notice, users of the Ronin network will not be allowed to make deposits or withdrawals, as reported.
CNBC Industry website Coindesk described the hacker attack as possibly the largest decentralized finance (challenge) in history. The biggest attack in the crypto world so far happened in August of last year, when thieves slipped around $610 million after hacking into the Poly Network platform. This money should have been returned later, according to financial times.
From DSS to encrypted pets
Prior to joining Sky Mavis, the company that developed Axie Infinity, Alexander Larsen worked for the Security and Ministerial Services Organization (DSS) in Norway. He worked there for several years and eventually got a middle management position.
male dn He changed his profession in April three years ago, when he packed his bags and moved to Vietnam.
2019: This degree has been sold for over 120,000 kroner
Alexander Larsen and Axe Infinity.
02:09
Posted:
No one is making this change. Working in the state is definitely like a bank. He said, ‘I’m starting a little over 30, and before we get any kids or things, we should go on some adventure.
When the company was to raise funds just months after Larsen moved from Norway, the company was estimated to be around NOK 100 million. Then the Axie platform had 3100 users.
According to the Financial Times, Axie Infinity had two million daily users in October of last year. (Terms)Copyright Dagens Næringsliv AS and/or our suppliers. We would like you to share our cases using a link that leads directly to our pages. All or part of the Content may not be copied or otherwise used with written permission or as permitted by law. For additional terms look here.
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