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The Ronin Network, known for its role in play-to-earn games, has been&nbsp;<a style="text-decoration:none" href="https://x.com/PeckShieldAlert/status/1820769744292872240">exploited</a> again. This time, over $11.33 million was siphoned off, marking the second significant hack in two years.
<h2 dir="ltr" id="span-span-peckshield-uncovers-the-exploit-span-span">PeckShield Uncovers the Exploit</h2>
The breach was first reported by blockchain security firm PeckShield. They revealed that a Maximal Extractable Value (MEV) bot withdrew Ether (ETH) and USD Coin (USDC) worth $11.33 million from the Ronin Bridge.&nbsp;
<div>
 <blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PeckShieldAlert?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PeckShieldAlert</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/Ronin_Network?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Ronin_Network</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/whitehacked?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#whitehacked</a>? or Hacked? (w/ ~ $9.33M) <a href="https://t.co/wfaY0zhVdI">pic.twitter.com/wfaY0zhVdI</a>— PeckShieldAlert (@PeckShieldAlert) <a href="https://twitter.com/PeckShieldAlert/status/1820769744292872240?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 6, 2024</a>
 </blockquote> 
</div>
The nature of these transactions remains uncertain, with speculation about whether they were executed by malicious actors or ethical/whitehat hackers aiming to expose vulnerabilities.
&nbsp;
White hat hackers often exploit vulnerabilities to demonstrate security flaws, subsequently returning the stolen funds. In this case, Ronin's exploit could lead to funds being returned soon, reducing its impact.
<h2 dir="ltr" id="span-span-ronin-network-s-response-span-span">Ronin Network's Response</h2>
Following the alert, Ronin Network&nbsp;<a style="text-decoration:none" href="https://x.com/Ronin_Network/status/1820804772917588339">paused</a> its operations.
&nbsp;
<blockquote>
 "Earlier today, we were notified by white-hats about a potential exploit on the Ronin bridge," the network posted on X.&nbsp;
</blockquote>
They confirmed the bridge was paused 40 minutes after the first on-chain action was detected. The pause was necessary to prevent further exploitation while the team investigated the breach.
<h2 dir="ltr" id="span-span-mev-bot-involvement-span-span">MEV Bot Involvement</h2>
The exploit appears to have been&nbsp;<a style="text-decoration:none" href="https://x.com/PeckShieldAlert/status/1820771481091277119/photo/1">facilitated</a> by an MEV bot, specifically “0x4ab,” which accidentally exploited a loophole in the Ronin Bridge protocol. MEV bots are software tools used by validators to analyze and execute arbitrage opportunities across decentralized finance platforms.&nbsp;
&nbsp;
Blockchain data reveals that the MEV bot “0x4ab” executed the transaction, withdrawing a substantial amount of funds. A portion of the funds, about 3.9 Ether, was sent to a wallet known as “beaverbuild.”&nbsp;
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Aleksander Leonard Larsen, co-founder and COO of Sky Mavis, the developer behind the Ronin Network,&nbsp;<a style="text-decoration:none" href="https://x.com/Psycheout86/status/1820771028420739140">assured</a> users that the protocol’s team had paused operations to investigate the breach. He emphasized that the Ronin Bridge holds more than $850 million in cryptocurrencies, and all assets are currently safe. Larsen promised more information once the team completes a thorough analysis.
<h2 dir="ltr" id="span-span-historical-context-span-span">Historical Context</h2>
This isn't the first time Ronin has been compromised. In March 2022, the network suffered a massive loss of over&nbsp;<a style="text-decoration:none" href="https://www.bankinfosecurity.com/crypto-hackers-exploit-ronin-network-for-615-million-a-18810">$615 million</a> in USDC and Ether.&nbsp;
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The exploit at that time involved hacked private keys used to forge fake withdrawals from the Ronin Bridge. The attacker exploited a backdoor through the gas-free RPC node, bypassing the network's security measures.

Ronin Network Halts Operations After Whitehat Suspected $11.3M Exploit

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