Axie Infinity
Summary
Axie Infinity is a blockchain-based play-to-earn NFT game developed by Vietnam-based Sky Mavis in which players collect, breed, and battle digital creatures called Axies on the Ronin sidechain. In March 2022 the game's underlying Ronin bridge was exploited for 173,600 ETH and 25.5 million USDC — approximately $625 million at the time — in what the US Treasury and FBI attributed to North Korea's Lazarus Group, making it the largest DeFi hack in history at that point. Sky Mavis subsequently raised $150 million to compensate affected users, hardened the Ronin validator set, and pivoted the game toward a land-based expansion called Homeland, though token prices and player counts have not recovered to 2021 peak levels.
Connected Entities
1 entities · 10 linked investigations- + 8 more
Timeline(18 events)
2017-01-01
Conceptual development of Axie Infinity begins by Trung Nguyen and co-founders in Vietnam.
Axie Infinity Wikipedia2018-03-01
Axie Infinity officially launches; Sky Mavis formally incorporated.
Axie Infinity Wikipedia2021-06-01
Daily active users surpass one million; Filipino players begin treating AXS/SLP earnings as primary income.
Decrypt — What Is Axie Infinity?2021-10-05
Sky Mavis raises $152 million Series B led by Andreessen Horowitz at a $3 billion valuation.
The Block2021-11-06
AXS token reaches all-time high of approximately $165; daily active users peak near 2.7 million.
CoinGecko / CoinLore historical data2021-11-01
Sky Mavis grants Axie DAO temporary RPC node allowlist access to distribute gas-free transactions during peak load.
Ronin Security Breach Postmortem2021-12-01
Gas-free transaction arrangement with Axie DAO is discontinued, but allowlist access is not revoked — leaving a backdoor.
Ronin Security Breach Postmortem2022-02-08
Sky Mavis reduces SLP emissions, warning publicly of risk of 'total and permanent economic collapse' in the Axie economy.
CoinDesk2022-03-23
Lazarus Group exploits the Ronin bridge, stealing 173,600 ETH and 25.5 million USDC (~$625 million) via five compromised validator keys.
Ronin Chain Community Alert2022-03-29
Breach is discovered after a user reports inability to withdraw 5,000 ETH. Sky Mavis publicly discloses the hack and pauses the Ronin bridge and Katana DEX.
Ronin Chain Community Alert2022-04-06
Sky Mavis announces $150 million fundraise led by Binance, with a16z, Paradigm, Animoca, Dialectic, and Accel, to compensate affected users.
TechCrunch2022-04-14
US Treasury OFAC sanctions Ethereum address 0x098B716B8Aaf21512996dC57EB0615e2383E2f96, formally attributing the Ronin hack to North Korea's Lazarus Group.
TechCrunch / CyberScoop2022-06-01
Ronin bridge relaunches after security audits; validator set expanded toward 21 nodes. All affected user funds reimbursed by Sky Mavis.
DappRadar2022-08-08
OFAC sanctions Tornado Cash, in part citing its use to launder approximately $455 million stolen in the Ronin hack.
Chainalysis2022-08-01
Ronin validator count reaches 17 as Sky Mavis continues expanding the validator set.
DappRadar2023-05-17
Sky Mavis releases NFT-optional mobile version of Axie Infinity, removing the mandatory three-Axie purchase barrier to entry.
Fortune2024-01-01
Axie Infinity: Homeland releases in beta — a land-based city-building experience with broader accessibility and reduced pay-to-enter requirements.
GAM3S.GG2024-04-15
Bounty Board quest system launches, driving approximately 37,000 new unique users and a reported 200% spike in audience engagement.
BlockchainGamer.bizDecision Log
- hash: ESYdma9UW3ZDw6Ka48pz7YSmXrx4Z8yUzUmBSe2tULmm
This investigation is cryptographically anchored to the Solana blockchain and source URLs are archived via the Internet Archive.
model: claude-sonnet-4-5
generated: 5/30/2026, 1:00:36 PM
last updated: 5/30/2026, 1:00:42 PM
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