Following Hack, Sky Mavis Reopening Ronin Bridge With Enhanced Security

The Axie Infinity developer had shut down the bridge after North Korea-linked hackers stole $625 million from the network in March

article-image

Blockworks exclusive art by Axel Rangel

share

key takeaways

  • The bridge will reopen on June 28th with more validators
  • Sky Mavis raised $150 million in a funding round led by Binance to restore the stolen funds

Barely three months after popular blockchain-based game Axie Infinity’s asset transfer protocol was breached for more than $500 million, the so-called crypto bridge is set to reopen. 

The speedy reopening was aided by a Binance-led $150 million funding round meant to help Sky Mavis reimburse users on the play-to-earn gaming platform. The company claims to have undergone multiple audits and upgraded its security since the March hack, but it remains to be seen whether users will trust Ronin with their funds again.

In the game, the largest based on non-fungible tokens (NFTs), players battle to earn tokens that can be exchanged for other currencies through the Ronin bridge. Players without access to Binance have been unable to withdraw their tokens since the hack and subsequent shutdown.

The hackers wrested control of the Ronin bridge’s validator nodes and stole 176,300 ether and 25.5 million USDC. The exploit was one of multiple recent transfer protocol hacks, with Wormhole and Horizon also suffering heists in the hundreds of millions this year.

“While racing for mainstream adoption, we made some trade-offs that ended up leaving us vulnerable to this sort of attack” Sky Mavis said in a blog post.

Following the funding round, Sky Mavis underwent an internal audit and two external audits. The company also pledged to increase its validator nodes from nine in-house operated validators to 21 more-decentralized validators. Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao is optimistic that enhanced security measures will restore belief in Sky Mavis.

“We have seen the tremendous work and growth of the Sky Mavis team since working together on the Axie Infinity project on Binance Launchpad,” Zhao said in a statement. “We strongly believe Sky Mavis will bring a lot of value and growth for the larger industry.”

Sky Mavis has promised to return all stolen user funds when it reopens the Ronin bridge on June 28. It remains unclear how many users will resume use of the product. 

The Axie Infinity influencer “cloudwhite” told Blockworks he believes most gamers hoping to withdraw their funds from Axie have already found a way to do so. The remaining users should continue to use the Ronin bridge once it reopens.

“The good news is we’ll know which way things swing in less than a week,” cloudwhite said.


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

Tags

Decoding crypto and the markets. Daily, with Byron Gilliam.

Upcoming Events

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

Industry City | Brooklyn, NY

TUES - THURS, JUNE 24 - 26, 2025

Permissionless IV serves as the definitive gathering for crypto’s technical founders, developers, and builders to come together and create the future.If you’re ready to shape the future of crypto, Permissionless IV is where it happens.

Brooklyn, NY

SUN - MON, JUN. 22 - 23, 2025

Blockworks and Cracked Labs are teaming up for the third installment of the Permissionless Hackathon, happening June 22–23, 2025 in Brooklyn, NY. This is a 36-hour IRL builder sprint where developers, designers, and creatives ship real projects solving real problems across […]

recent research

Nick Compute (1).png

Research

2025 has facilitated unprecedented growth in generative AI adoption. By late 2024, over 71% of companies were using generative AI in some form, a massive jump from 33% the year prior. Tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and open-source models have proliferated, with potentially billions now leveraging AI chat bots. In Q1 2025, OpenAI’s release of the o3 & o4 models marked another leap, touted as a multimodal “reasoning” model capable of breaking responses into smaller components, testing different approaches, and validating solutions until reaching a final output.

article-image

Fineqia’s Matteo Greco says Circle’s targeting a valuation in line with market expectations to avoid a post-launch drop like Coinbase

article-image

The President’s son reportedly said his family may pursue legal action

article-image

One lets everyone see your trades. The other hides everything. Which design wins in crypto’s next perps arena?

article-image

Celebrating Bitcoin’s “zero to 1,000%” moment

article-image

K33 analyst Vetle Lunde warned of potential volatility ahead

article-image

The president wants Senators to hurry up and pass his sweeping tax and budget bill, as well as pro-crypto legislation