More than 48 billion yen, an equivalent of $305 million has been siphoned from Japanese cryptocurrency exchange DMM Bitcoin.
Spot Transactions Halted on DMM Bitcoin
According to the firm’s blog post, its protocol came under an attack that led to the loss of 4,502.9 Bitcoin (BTC). Unfortunately, this marks the second largest crypto heist that the region has recorded in recent times, with the first being the 2018 Coincheck hack worth 58 billion yen.
The exchange is putting measures in place to ensure that the “leaked” funds are recovered. Consequently, all spot buys on the platform have been put on hold until further notice. Similarly, users of the platform were informed that Japanese yen withdrawals “may take more time than usual.”
Measures are in place to avoid a recurrence of further unauthorized outflows, per DMM Bitcoin’s announcement.
“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 stated, suggesting that affected users will be reimbursed.
While users of the crypto exchange await an update on the state of their refund, some other residents of Japan are currently in a state of euphoria, owing to a new development in the region.
The Mt.Gox Precedence
Embattled crypto service provider Mt.Gox has started refunding Bitcoin to its customers, after almost ten years of ceasing operations. The attack on Mt.Gox marked one of the first major hacks in the digital asset industry, setting a related precedence for DMM Bitcoin.
The transaction history confirmed that the Mt.Gox transfer occurred in five tranches with each containing as much as 2,000 BTC and the highest at 2,240 BTC.
The hacker behind the scam drained its treasury of 750,000 Bitcoin belonging to Mt.Gox customers. Markedly, the total theft, including 100,000 BTC from the firm’s wallet, was valued at the time at $473 million
As of May 28, blockchain analytics platform Lookonchain reported that wallets labeled Mt.Gox has transferred 12,240 BTC worth approximately $843.6 million to a new wallet.
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