Japanese cryptocurrency exchange DMM Bitcoin is the latest crypto platform to fall victim to hackers. The recent incident resulted in a huge loss of 48 billion yen ($305 million) in Bitcoin (BTC).
According to the company's blog post as spotted by TechCrunch, a total of 4,502.9 BTC was "leaked" from the exchange. The exchange has implemented measures to prevent further unauthorized outflows. They assured that customers should not worry about their placed cryptocurrencies on the platform.
Eighth Largest Crypto Theft in History
(Photo : Kanchanara from Unsplash)
Following a recent crypto theft, DMM Bitcoin said that there was an unauthorized leak of BTC from their wallet. Right now, the investigation is underway.
Crypto security firm Elliptic ranks this incident as the eighth-largest crypto theft ever. Data from Blocksec reveals that the hacker dispersed the stolen Bitcoin across 10 wallets, each receiving 500 BTC.
In response, DMM Bitcoin has halted all spot purchases on its platform and cautioned that Japanese yen withdrawals might experience delays.
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Customer Deposits Fully Guaranteed
On the brighter side, DMM Bitcoin has assured its customers that their Bitcoin deposits will be fully guaranteed. The exchange plans to procure an equivalent amount of BTC to cover the loss, with support from its group companies.
"Please be assured that we will procure the equivalent amount of BTC equivalent to the outflow with the support of the group companies and guarantee the full amount," DMM Bitcoin said.
Cryptocurrency Hacks Are Getting Worse
Before this theft, over $473 million had been lost to cryptocurrency hacks in 2024. This incident is the second largest in Japan, following the 58 billion yen theft from Coincheck in 2018.
In late 2023, Tracker said that a total of $1.8 billion worth of cryptocurrency stolen was accounted for all crypto hacking incidents that took place in the said year.
It appears that the hackers were making blockchain transactions untraceable, which made it harder for crypto exchanges to recover money from thefts.
Speaking of crypto heist, a security engineer named Shakeeb Ahmed was sentenced to a three-year jail time after his involvement in a Solana crypto exchange hijack.
Since Ahmed pleaded guilty to the charges, he would face the consequences of his actions. The crypto hacker reportedly stole nearly $12 million in cryptocurrency.
With investors hungry for any crypto spike anytime, it's the same feeling that the hackers feel whenever they sense the need to crack the crypto exchange vault.
It will be a tough battle for the crypto industry to address this, but things will only get better if crypto platforms know the true value of having a "secured" environment for everyone.
Crypto hacks are growing worse each year and it will take some time before the sector acts upon the left and right wrongdoings. With each second that passes, it only gives the hackers a chance to continue their evil scheme for the sake of their own desire.
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