Japanese exchange DMM Bitcoin hacked, $305 million lost

Japanese cryptocurrency exchange DMM Bitcoin has become the latest victim of a cyberattack. 48 billion Yen, approximately $305 million, was lost to the attackers.

According to a May 29 blog post, the platform noticed unauthorized outflows. 4,502.9 BTC was “leaked” from the platform’s wallets, the announcement noted.

Whale alert flags suspicious transaction

The exchange said the attack was executed at 1:26 p.m. Tokyo time. Interestingly, on-chain tracker Whalealert tracked a a transaction worth 4,502 BTC moments later.

Several users have speculated that this was the attacker.

At the time of publication, the funds remain in a wallet identified by “1B6r..w7P”. However, there has been no official confirmation.

The platform has assured users that all lost funds will be reimbursed. DMM Bitcoin plans to raise the equivalent amount of lost funds via its group of companies.

As of the end of 2023, DMM Bitcoin offered its services to approximately 370,000 customers.

At the moment, the company has restricted all spot buys on the platform. Further the exchange has also notified users that Yen withdrawals will be slower than usual.

Japan’s history of hacks

Japanese cryptocurrency exchanges are no stranger to hacks. Over the past years, multiple large-scale attacks have occurred on crypto-focused platforms.

Liquid, a leading crypto platform in the region, lost $80m worth of crypto in an attack in August 2021. During the previous year, Bitpoint, another Japanese exchange, lost ¥3.5bn worth of cryptocurrencies from its hot wallets, worth $32 million at the time.

The nation saw its largest attack happen in 2018. Coincheck, a leading exchange, lost $500 million worth of cryptocurrencies. To date, this is the largest crypto-oriented attack ever recorded in the nation.

Despite the setbacks, the nation has been quietly nurturing an active crypto economy. Earlier this year, Japan’s Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF), the largest pension fund globally, announced its intentions to accommodate Bitcoin in its treasury.

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