Thursday, July 16, 2026

NFT Video Game Developer Recovers Large Sum After $625M Hack

  • The hackers have been linked to a North Korean unit known as the Lazarus Group.
  • Blockchain analyst Chainalysis helped in the recovery.
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Video game developer Sky Mavis has recovered $30 million worth of cryptocurrency tokens with the help of U.S. authorities following a hack of its NFT-based title “Axie Infinity.” 

In March, “Axie Infinity” was hacked, causing Sky Mavis to lose $625 million. The title saw an exodus of players after it restricted the ability to transfer money out of the game. 

  • Blockchain analyst Chainalysis helped in the recovery.
  • Hackers stole a total of 173,600 Ethereum tokens.
  • The hackers have been linked to a North Korean unit known as the Lazarus Group.

In April, Sky Mavis raised $150 million to help alleviate losses caused by the hack and a decline in daily active users. Led by cryptocurrency exchange Binance — whose tokens are used in “Axie Infinity” — the round was used to partially reimburse players and improve security.

Other investors in the round included software and venture firm Animoca Brands, VC firm Andreessen Horowitz, Switzerland-based capital enterprise Dialectic, and crypto-focused VC firm Paradigm

Taking Action 

On Friday, Sky Mavis landed a deal with Google Cloud to secure its blockchain network.

As part of the multiyear pact, Google Cloud will help validate transactions within Sky Mavis’ gaming network.

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