DMM Bitcoin, a Japanese cryptocurrency exchange, has confirmed that it experienced an “unauthorized leak” resulting in a loss of over $300 million in Bitcoin (BTC). The exchange has promised to fully reimburse users for their losses caused by the hack.
In a blog post, DMM Bitcoin disclosed that 4,502.9 BTC had “leaked” from its wallets, with a value of approximately 48 billion yen ($305 million). According to crypto analytics firm Elliptic, this theft ranks as the eighth-largest cryptocurrency exploit in history and the largest since FTX’s $477 million hack in November 2022.
DMM Bitcoin is currently investigating the incident and has taken measures to prevent further losses of Bitcoin from its wallets. As a result, certain services are now restricted, including spot buys and new account openings. The exchange has also warned that yen-based withdrawals may take longer than usual.
These actions have been implemented to ensure additional safety for users. DMM Bitcoin has pledged to fully compensate customers for the exact amount of BTC lost in the breach. In an official blog post written in Japanese, the exchange stated:
According to data from Elliptic, the hacker divided the stolen Bitcoin among ten different wallets in batches of $34.3 million in BTC each. However, the tenth wallet received just under $200,000.
The cryptocurrency industry has been plagued by exploits and hacks. In 2023, hackers managed to steal the equivalent of $2 billion in cryptocurrency across various platforms, according to De.Fi, a company that tracks crypto hacks and scams. This total is the lowest since 2020, as reported by De.Fi.
Excluding the DMM Bitcoin heist, which is the second-largest in Japan, over $473 million worth of crypto has been stolen in 108 incidents so far this year. In 2018, the Coincheck crypto exchange lost approximately 58 billion yen.
Reported by Jeffrey Gogo for Cryptopolitan.
