Ronin Network Hack: Katana Exchange is Back with Limited Capabilities

• Hacker has not stepped back to return the funds.
• Sky Mavis, backers will reimburse all affected users.
• Despite Origin launch on Thursday, AXS prices burrow under $60.

The Ronin network attempts to return to normal service after discovering a hack on March 29 that took away between $621 and $630M in ETH and USDC tokens. The latest step is to restart the Katana decentralized exchange with limited functionality. 

Katana is back online. https://t.co/YPoiZ933SO

Main front-end is still caching but will be up shortly as well.

— Ronin (@Ronin_Network) April 6, 2022

The mode of working of Katana DEX can be hampered by the fact that the wrapped ETH and USDC are not backed by the same amount of tokens held in the bridge smart contract. It was precisely these tokens that the hacker is still holding and moving around addresses.

Sky Mavis, Backers Restore Funds to Affected Users

Like the Wormhole hack, in the end the funds will be reimbursed over time.The Axie Infinity team already announced part of the sum has been secured in a funding round led by Binance, with Animoca Brands among the backers. Sky Mavis will also use some of its reserves to cover the losses for anyone that made deposits into the Ronin bridge. 

https://twitter.com/AxieInfinity/status/1511646772531138565

With this move, Axie aims to close the biggest exploit in DeFi history. This time, the hacker was not having any white-hat intentions of returning the funds. Instead, they remain blacklisted for most centralized exchanges. 

The Ronin network has worked to bring up the security of its bridge, by adding more validators to replace the compromised ones. A return to moving assets between Ronin and Ethereum may happen in a few weeks. 

The news of the upcoming reimbursements arrive just days after Binance reopened deposits for AXS and SLP tokens, which were not directly affected by the hack.

AXS Slides Under $60

AXS had another crash in the past day, to a low of $57.53. So far, the asset has not responded with a rally to the upcoming official Origin launch on April 7. AXS peaked most recently around $75 just before the discovery of the Ronin hack. 

Smooth Love Potion (SLP) is down by around 13% in the past day, to $0.022, within its usual range. The asset moved up slightly between seasons, but remains suppressed by its excess supply.