Published on augustus 7, 2024, 12:26 am
Image source: Fox News
```json [ { "TLDR": "The Ronin Network lost $9.8 million in Ether due to a possible exploit, suspected to be orchestrated by an ethical hacker identifying vulnerabilities. The incident involved an MEV bot triggering the transfer. Cryptocurrency hacks, including MEV bot exploits, are on the rise in 2024, with significant losses reported. WazirX, an Indian exchange, suffered one of the largest heists of $230 million in July." } ] ```
In recent news, the Ronin Network faced a significant loss of $9.8 million worth of Ether in a potential exploit, contributing to the growing number of cryptocurrency hacks in 2024. The network is well-known within the gaming blockchain space and reportedly lost 3,996 Ether (ETH) tokens valued at over $9.8 million.
Interestingly, there’s a twist in this tale as the exploit might have been orchestrated by a white hat hacker, also known as an ethical hacker, who aims to identify vulnerabilities within crypto protocols. These ethical hackers typically return any stolen funds after highlighting the weaknesses in the system.
On the optimistic side, it appears that the exploit was linked to a maximal extractable value (MEV) bot—a tool used by validators to explore arbitrage opportunities in decentralized finance. MEV bots can inadvertently exploit loopholes in protocols while executing arbitrage strategies automatically.
Further examination of the transaction revealed that an MEV bot labeled “0x4ab” triggered the $9.8 million transfer on the Ronin bridge and subsequently directed a fraction of this sum (3.9 Ether tokens) to wallet “0x952” or “beaverbuild.”
This incident isn’t isolated; another hack involving an MEV bot occurred at Rho Markets in July for approximately $7.6 million. Fortunately, the protocol managed to recover all missing funds within a week, showcasing resilience amidst such challenges.
It’s noteworthy that crypto hacks have been on the rise this year compared to 2023. During Q1 2024 alone, stolen funds amounted to $542.7 million—an alarming 42% surge from the previous year during the same period.
July witnessed one of its most severe blows when an unidentified hacker pilfered over $230 million from WazirX, an Indian cryptocurrency exchange—marking it as one of 2024’s largest crypto heists so far. The hacker has been maneuvering around with the stolen assets and recently consolidated $57 million worth of Ethereum into new addresses with possible intentions to liquidate.
The month saw a total of over $266 million lost across 16 individual attacks, making WazirX’s breach stand out as a significant event within this unfortunate trend.
Original article posted by Fox News
