Ronin Network hacking: What is Ronin bridge & its RON token?

Highlights

• In the latest setback to the crypto verse, Ronin Network has reportedly lost a huge sum to hackers
• RON crypto of the network has come under pressure and has lost value over the past 24 hours
• Ronin powers games like Axie Infinity, which has the AXS token with a very high market cap

Two stories have been dominating the world of cryptocurrencies of late. In the first, Lionel Messi, the global sports sensation, has reportedly struck a deal to endorse the fan token project, Socios.com. Chiliz or CHZ is the native token of this project, which fans can use to purchase tokens of entities like Juventus and PSG.

In the second, the Ronin Network, which is used by gaming metaverses like Axie Infinity, has reportedly lost hundreds of millions of dollars in crypto assets to hackers. The heist is being considered as one of the biggest in the decentralized finance (DeFi) sector. Before we discuss this, let us know what Ronin Network does in the blockchain space.

What is Ronin Bridge?

A blockchain services provider, Ronin Network uses Ethereum’s EVM (Ethereum Virtual Machine) to provide decentralized ledger services to gaming projects. Axie Infinity, a blockchain gaming metaverse with a multi-billion-dollar market cap as of writing, uses the services of Ronin Network. The project is also providing wallet services, besides having an in-house decentralized exchange (DEX) Katana.

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Ronin Network also supports non-fungible tokens (NFTs), which lie at the heart of almost all metaverse projects including Axie Infinity. Axie playable characters are NFTs that can be traded as digital assets.

Ronin crypto (RON)

Though Axie Infinity’s AXS token is quite popular and ranked among top 50 crypto assets as of writing, Ronin Network’s RON crypto has a relatively very low market cap.

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As of writing, RON token’s market cap was nearly US$270 million, with both price and trading volume under pressure, possibly due to the recent hack of the network. According to CoinMarketCap, the Ronin token was trading at over US$3 almost two months back on January 28. Since February 20, the crypto has traded under US$2.5, and as of writing, the price was nearly US$1.8.

Data provided by CoinMarketCap.com

Ronin Network hack

The network has reported that its Ronin bridge has lost ETH and USDC assets to hackers. As a result, the project has halted the network, and it is said to be working with law enforcement agencies to recover the lost assets. Separately, it is being claimed by the network that the AXS, RON, and SLP (the second token of Axie Infinity) crypto tokens are “safe”.

Bottom line

Many experts have warned about the risks involved in trading in cryptocurrencies. Yet, these assets are popular, and the support of Lionel Messi to the Socios.com fan token project may add more sheen. But the recent episode of hack, where ETH and USDC tokens have been stolen by hackers from Ronin, may be an eye-opener.

That aside, the RON token of the Ronin Network has also lost value so far this year. Though the Ronin project powers popular blockchain games like Axie Infinity, what happens in the coming months cannot be predicted with certainty, especially when it comes to Ronin crypto price prediction.

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