The CoinGeek Pulse Episode 83: Axie Infinity's Ronin $615M heist, blockchain industry updates in Asia and the latest NFT drops

Ronin Bridge, the Ethereum sidechain used by popular NFT game Axie Infinity, lost over $600 million in what appears to be one of the largest digital currency heists in the world.

In a tweet early this week, the company revealed that there had been a security breach in its network, adding an explainer of what had transpired during the exploit. 

“The attacker managed to get control over Sky Mavis’s four Ronin validators and a third-party validator run by Axie DAO,” according to a Ronin’s newsletter. The hackers stole over 173,600 ether tokens and 25.5 million USD coin tokens from the Ethereum-based sidechain. 

Blockchain Intelligence Group traced the hack and alerted users that the hackers are moving some funds to major exchanges such as FTX, Crypto.com, and Huobi. In the meantime, Ronin Bridge said it is already working with law enforcement and forensics cryptographers to recover and reimburse stolen funds. 

“We are working directly with various government agencies to ensure the criminals get brought to justice,” said the company in a statement.

This hack is a direct result of how highly unsecure and vulnerable side chains and separate networks are to attacks and exploits. Another NFT Game, CryptoFights, which was initially built on Ethereum, has predicted that this could happen. CryptoFights has since moved off Ethereum onto the BSV blockchain, which doesn’t require a second layer solution to scale or to function. 

Ronin’s recent update on the hack, however, claims that their current investigations point to the attack being socially engineered rather than a technical flaw. The company will continue to provide updates via its newsletter as the investigations go.

In other news, here are the latest blockchain industry updates in Asia. 

In India, the Advertising Stands Council of India (ASCI) has released guidelines for digital assets-related advertisements, including all digital currencies. This requires ads for virtual digital asset (VDA) products and exchanges to include a disclaimer: “Crypto products and [non-fungible tokens] are unregulated and can be highly risky. There may be no regulatory recourse for any loss from such transactions.” 

The guideline also mandates disclosing all costs users might associate with the ad offering. ASCI advertising guideline on digital assets takes effect on April 1. 

Japan tightens its stance on digital currency exchange regulation to stop evasive actions using digital assets by sanctioned countries. On Monday, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno revealed plans for Japan to amend its Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Act. This includes introducing a bill that seeks to revise the foreign exchange laws to include digital currency exchanges. 

In Southeast Asia, Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) bans digital currencies and other digital assets. Digital currencies can no longer be used to purchase goods and services to maintain financial market stability. Service providers are given until the end of March to halt digital currency-related services. 

Rounding out the updates in the region, BSV wallet HandCash now allows fiat top-ups in the Philippines. It has now become easier for residents in the Southeast Asian country to buy BSV.

Getting into the world of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) is Grammy-awardee DJ Diplo, who joins rapper Nas in another NFT drop. The EDM superstar released his latest single, ‘Don’t Forget My Love’ on the tokenized royalties platform, Royal. In January, Royal collaborated with Nas, who tokenized two of his songs on the platform. Founder and fellow DJ Justin Blau said in a statement that this drop shows blockchain use cases can extend beyond independent artists.

Speaking of use cases, Bicycle ownership tracker BikeFair is using “utility NFTs” for buyers and sellers. The company aims to create an internationally-available bicycle registry using NFT-based ownership records on the BSV blockchain. On the other hand, its second-hand bike marketplace makes buying and selling easy and keeps track of ownership and registration records.

Furthermore, on NFTs, the life of the late anti-authoritarian hero John McAfee is now an NFT. No Domain: The John McAfee Tapes is a biographical look at McAfee’s life, including his mysterious death in a Barcelona prison. Author Mark Eglinton has released the book and the NFT on the BSV publishing platform Canonic. Visit the Canonic website to get hold of this limited supply NFT.

This week, the latest episode of More than Money with Patrick Thompson is out, featuring Brandon Bryant of HandCash who talked about the revolutionary nano-payments, games, and apps. 

Also, check out the latest episode of Becky Liggero’s The Blockchain Beat, in which she attended KnowNow’s Player Protection Forum in London. Watch the full videos on the CoinGeek YouTube channel.

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