WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. government has linked North Korean hackers to the theft of hundreds of millions of dollars in cryptocurrency tied to the popular online game Axie Infinity, according to digital forensics firms.
Ronin, a blockchain network that allows users to transfer cryptocurrency in and out of the game, said that nearly $615 million worth of digital cash was stolen on March 23.
No one has explicitly placed blame for the attack, but the US Treasury on Thursday identified a digital currency address used by hackers that was under the control of a group of North Korean hackers, often called "Lazarus".
Blockchain analytics firms including Chainalysis and Elliptic said the designation confirmed that North Korea was behind the theft.
The US Treasury did not immediately return a message seeking comment. Aleksander Larsen, co-founder of Sky Mavis, which makes Axie, declined to comment. CrowdStrike, which was hired by Sky Mavis to investigate the breach, also declined to comment.
However, a person familiar with the matter confirmed that North Korean hackers had been the focus of the cybersecurity firm's investigation for the past few weeks.
(Reporting by Raphael Satter and Daphne Psaledakis in Washington and Elizabeth Howcroft in London; Editing by Sandra Maler)
