Sky Mavis, the company behind the popular play-to-earn game Axie Infinity, has successfully retrieved $5.7 million with the help of Norwegian authorities following the infamous Ronin Bridge incident in 2022.
On June 7, Sky Mavis announced that Norway’s economic and environmental crime-fighting unit, known as “Økokrim,” had frozen and returned the $5.7 million in funds from the Ronin Bridge hack. The company expressed gratitude to the Norwegian government and the FBI for their efforts in tracking and recovering the assets, which required collaboration between law enforcement, legal professionals, accountants, and blockchain forensic experts like Chainalysis.
A portion of the recovered funds will be allocated to cover expenses incurred during the recovery process, with the remainder returning to the Axie Infinity treasury. Additionally, law enforcement has frozen an additional $40 million in digital assets, although the timeline for their return remains uncertain.
The Ronin Bridge hack, one of the most costly security breaches in the cryptocurrency industry, took place on March 29, 2022. The incident involved the exploitation of the Ronin Bridge protocol, resulting in the unauthorized transfer of 173,600 Ether and 25.5 million USD Coin. Sky Mavis raised $150 million in April 2022 to compensate affected users, with the support of Binance, and has since enhanced the security of the Ronin blockchain by collaborating with validators like Google Cloud.
Despite the security breach, Ronin continues to be a leading blockchain for nonfungible tokens (NFTs) and currently ranks third in all-time NFT sales, behind Solana and Ethereum. The company remains committed to maintaining the integrity and security of the Axie Infinity ecosystem, ensuring a safe and enjoyable gaming experience for users.