Chainalysis, a blockchain research business, reported on Thursday that it has recovered more than $30 million associated with Axie Infinity’s Ronin network attack, which made news in late March.
Chainalysis’ senior head of investigations, Erin Plante, released the facts at the current Axie Infinity conference in Spain, saying:
“With the assistance of law enforcement and top cryptocurrency groups, more than $30 million in bitcoin stolen by North Korean-linked hackers has been recovered.” This is the first time bitcoin stolen by a North Korean cyber outfit has been captured, and we are convinced that it will not be the last.”
According to current trade values, the recovered monies equaled around 10% of the total stolen cash, according to Plante.
A month after the vulnerability, the crypto exchange Binance assisted in the recovery of $5.8 million in money associated with the breach. Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao stated that his organization was able to recover the assets despite the hackers’ use of 86 separate accounts to send payments to the exchange.
It is also worth noting that the breach was purportedly carried out by the famed North Korean hacker outfit, Lazarus. The conclusion was reached when the United States Treasury Department determined that the Ethereum address used to carry out the attack was the same as the address of the notorious hacker organization.
The agency sanctioned Tornado Cash, the crypto mixer used by the hacking gang to launder the funds, last month.
In March, the hacker gang compromised five of the nine private keys held by the Ronin network’s transaction validators. The crew discovered the bridge assault just six days later. However, at the time, the project had suffered a $625 million financial loss, making it the greatest hack of the year.
Three months after it had been closed, the company behind the Ronin network and the popular play-to-earn game Sky Mavis restored the bridge in June. Users were able to retrieve their cash after it was reopened.
