One of Japan’s largest crypto exchanges, DMM Bitcoin, has just fallen victim to a massive hack that has cost it almost $305 million in bitcoins. Despite the extent of the damage, the platform is committed to fully refunding its affected customers.
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Japanese crypto giant faces record loss of 4502.9 BTC
Friday, May 31, DMM Bitcoin confirmed that approximately 48.2 billion yen, or ($305 million), of bitcoins held by its customers were illegally removed from its portfolios. This “unauthorized leak” of 4,502.9 BTC represents one of the largest hacks ever suffered by a crypto exchange platform worldwide.
Faced with this large-scale attack, DMM Bitcoin immediately suspended certain services to contain the damage, such as opening new accounts, withdrawals of crypto assets and spot purchases. Leveraged traders are no longer allowed to open new positions either. Only sales remain permitted for the time being.
Investigation underway into the circumstances of the piracy
In accordance with Japanese regulations, customers’ crypto assets are segregated and managed independently from the equity of DMM Bitcoin. The company claims to verify these holdings daily and store over 95% of them in ultra-secure cold wallets.
An investigation is currently underway to determine the precise circumstances of this hack. DMM Bitcoin suspects that the bitcoins were stolen from a cold wallet, which was reputed to be safe from illegal access.
Despite the considerable scale of the damage, DMM Bitcoin has pledged to refund the full crypto assets of its impacted customers. Thanks to the financial support of its affiliates, the platform assures that it will obtain the equivalent amount of the 4,502.9 bitcoins to cover these losses.
This $305 million hack at DMM Bitcoin recalls previous scandals in the crypto sector such as the giant hack of Mt. Gox in 2014 and Coincheck in 2018. If the exchange manages to deliver on its promise, it will avert a major crisis of confidence for its users.
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As a journalist at Coinpri, I’ve been captivated by the world of bitcoin and blockchain since 2020. The decentralized aspect of Bitcoin particularly piqued my interest. Since then, I’ve been working constantly to spread my knowledge, hoping one day to see a world where everyone fully enjoys their financial freedom.
