The second-largest cryptocurrency theft in history occurred on March 23 from the Ronin blockchain project, authorities announced today.
The Ronin project said unidentified hackers stole some 173,600 ether tokens and 25.5 million USD Coin tokens worth 540 million (US). At current exchange rates, the stolen funds are worth 615 million USD.
Ronin said the hacker used stolen private keys to get hold of the funds.
“We are working directly with various government agencies to ensure that the criminals are brought to justice,” the project said.
Last August, cryptocurrency platform Poly Network was the victim of the largest theft in history. At the time of the misdeed, hackers had seized more than $600 million worth of .ork tokens.
Cryptocurrency is a virtual currency that is increasingly used as a method of payment. It can be exchanged through an exchange platform without the need for a traditional financial system.
The popularity of cryptocurrency has been growing steadily over the past few years. This year, during the Super Bowl LVI, it was noticed being very present during the commercial breaks.