Ronin Network relaunched
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The developers have relaunched the Ronin Network sidechain used in the NFT game Axie Infinity, and reimbursed users for the funds they lost in the March 2022 hack.
All wETH and USDC belonging to Ronin Network users are now fully secured 1:1 ETH and USDC on the Ethereum network, as promised. All users have been compensated, the statement said.
Those assets that were stolen from Axie DAO's coffers (56,000 wETH) are expected to be recovered thanks to law enforcement. But, if the stolen funds cannot be returned to the coffers within the next two years, the decentralized organization will hold a vote on further action.
Recall that Ronin's sidechain was hacked on 23 March 2022 — a hacker managed to withdraw 173,600 ETH and 25.5 million USDC in assets.
As a result of a phishing attack on an employee of Sky Mavis, developer of Axie Infinity, the attackers managed to gain access to the company's infrastructure and Ethereum sidechain validators.
As it was later revealed, the hackers used elements of social engineering to obtain the data needed to hack Ronin.
The team had originally expected to relaunch the sidechain in mid- to late-May, but the deadline was later pushed back.
The postponement of the relaunch was due to a protracted protocol review. The updated protocol has been audited by Certik and the project's code base has been verified by Verichains.
According to the developers, the Ronin crosschain bridge has received an entirely new design, for example, it now includes an updated security system that allows the decentralized application to be shut down in emergencies. Such a measure should improve its security and minimize damage from suspicious transactions.