AXS Crypto Dips on News of a Ronin Hack Worth Over $600M

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Axie Infinity (AXS-USD) was on a tear just days ago, but it’s now being stopped in its tracks thanks to a crypto hack. It appears that bad actors have infiltrated the network underlying the Axie Infinity universe. Now the hack, worth more than $600 million in assets stolen, is throwing AXS crypto prices into tumult.

The logo for Axie Infinity (AXS) is displayed on a cellphone screen.
Source: TongRoRo / Shutterstock.com

Just last week, Axie Infinity had everybody talking again. The token had been suffering earlier this year, thanks largely to a market-wide corrective period. Prices had tumbled and investors were turning away from metaverse and gaming plays as a result. Last week, though, it seemed like the project was mounting a turnaround.

Specifically, AXS prices began flying high again on news that developers were planning a new release. The next game in the Axie franchise, Axie Infinity: Origin, is expected to bring huge changes to the network. Most notably, the release will provide new users with free starter Axies; the prices of the creature non-fungible tokens (NFTs) required to play the game had increased so much since launch that many users could not even try the game out.

Unfortunately for AXS holders, though, prices are now making a fast U-turn. The token is back on the skids, sliding around 8% today. Even more unfortunate, the catalyst was no fault of the Axie Infinity developers. Rather, it looks like the underlying infrastructure that supports this metaverse player is in hot water over a hack.

AXS Crypto Slides Downward Amid Ronin Hack

Ronin (RON-USD) is a blockchain built specifically for NFT-based games. Last year, the network hosted the launch of Axie Infinity, which has become its most popular offering by far. In February, the network also launched its own RON coin to supplement the network. Now, after a rollercoaster of a few weeks since launching, the coin is tanking and bringing the AXS crypto down with it.

Today’s losses have been catalyzed by a hack on the Ronin network. As an Ethereum (ETH-USD) Virtual Machine (EVM) network, Ronin can easily integrate with other Ethereum ecosystems. Further, as a part of this, developers have created bridges to allow users to move assets from the Ronin chain to other chains.

It was through a Ronin bridge that a bad actor was able to rob the chain of a large bag of assets, however. Ronin announced earlier today that the hacker was able to take 173,600 ETH and $25.5 million in USD Coin (USDC-USD). All told, this amounts to over $600 million. The network says it will be working with all necessary parties to recoup the assets.

As a result of the hack, the RON crypto has tanked over 22%. But the AXS crypto is not safe from the losses, either. As the flagship franchise of the Ronin network, AXS is subject to the same volatility. Right now, the token is down over 8%.

On the date of publication, Brenden Rearick did not hold (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.


Article printed from InvestorPlace Media, https://investorplace.com/2022/03/axs-crypto-dips-on-news-of-a-ronin-hack-worth-over-600m/.

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