Japan's DMM Bitcoin exchange loses over $300m of cryptocurrency

[ABCbits]

Japan's DMM Bitcoin exchange loses over $300m of cryptocurrency

TOKYO (Reuters) -- Japan's cryptocurrency exchange DMM Bitcoin said on Friday that it had lost 4,502.9 bitcoin, worth about 48.2 billion yen or $308 million, in what the company called an "unauthorized leak."

It gave no details of how the incident occurred or whether an outside party had been involved, but said it was investigating and had restricted some services in response... Read more here.


It's been some time since exchange/service hack lead to such huge financial loss. And while they they'll replace customer Bitcoin, who knows when will customer receive the replacement. Your opinion is greatly appreciated.

[joniboini]

A bit of a shame they don't share more details about it. I have an account on DMM for their gaming service and I can only say their security doesn't give me any confidence. Sometimes they block users from visiting their website without prior notice too, which some people suggest they're testing new systems on a live environment. Which is wild if that also happens to their exchange service. That being said, I wonder how much of that money is their own cold/storage reserves.

[ABCbits]

A bit of a shame they don't share more details about it.

I agree, although it's not that unusual on cryptocurrency world.

I have an account on DMM for their gaming service and I can only say their security doesn't give me any confidence. Sometimes they block users from visiting their website without prior notice too, which some people suggest they're testing new systems on a live environment. Which is wild if that also happens to their exchange service.

I never use DMM. But don't tell me that same DMM account can be used for both gaming and Bitcoin exchange, since it sounds risky.

That being said, I wonder how much of that money is their own cold/storage reserves.

It's interesting thought and it makes me think how they count which Bitcoin used belong to them and which Bitcoin used belong to their customer. After all, i expect the coin got consolidated quickly.

[Lucius]

As far as I remember, many years ago, Japan promised much greater regulation and more difficult obtaining licenses for crypto exchanges, because it's no secret that the biggest crypto hack in history happened right there (Mt.Gox). It seems that there are still "amateurs" in this business, which I find somewhat strange considering the Japanese mentality - but maybe that is no longer the case and we are completely misjudging the Japanese as a people.

The only question I would ask is whether it is about coins that were stolen from hot or cold wallets - because if it is the latter, then it is very likely that it is an inside job.

[yhiaali3]

According to what I read in the news, the exchange announced on its website that all user deposits “will be fully insured.” DMM exchange also suspended withdrawals and the opening of new accounts, in addition to new immediate purchase orders and all new trading orders, for a temporary period. However, limit trade orders that have already been placed are not cancelled.

In the end, the exchange stated: “We will purchase an equivalent amount of Bitcoin to ensure that all users are compensated. These funds will be obtained with the support of our group companies.”

This means that they will compensate all customers. I hope that what they say is true and that the legal procedures to compensate those affected will not be complicated.

[ABCbits]

In the end, the exchange stated: “We will purchase an equivalent amount of Bitcoin to ensure that all users are compensated. These funds will be obtained with the support of our group companies.”

This means that they will compensate all customers. I hope that what they say is true and that the legal procedures to compensate those affected will not be complicated.

And more recent news state the company currently trying to obtain money do that. Although one of the source is through loan.

Source: https://cryptobriefing.com/dmm-bitcoin-repayment-plan/

[Faisal2202]

It's been some time since exchange/service hack lead to such huge financial loss. And while they they'll replace customer Bitcoin, who knows when will customer receive the replacement. Your opinion is greatly appreciated.

You are right, not so many exchanges or services has faced such huge loss, besides the UWU lend a defi protocol also get hacked and lost $20 million dollars. I already heard about the DMM exchange, and it was not a good thing that they lost funds but in the news, I heard they made the statement that they have enough funds to refund every single user of their exchange. So there is nothing to worry about.

I don't know if the withdrawals are restricted on this site if any Japanese could confirm. Cexs like these don't just waste their empire over such loss (Although it's not a small one) but they can earn more if they choose not to scam you (their customers). AFAIK, there was a service, wallet authentication service, that was promoted on BTT, it was a review campaign, it was also a Japanese service that got hacked, its name was Mixin Safe. They also lost a lot of money back then. It was a big hack of $200M but I think it was back in 2023.

[Stompix]

And more recent news state the company currently trying to obtain money do that. Although one of the source is through loan.
Source: https://cryptobriefing.com/dmm-bitcoin-repayment-plan/

So in theory the hackers have created demand for Bitcoin, that is if they don't dump the stolen coins for fiat.
Drawing a parallel to the FTX case, will customers want coins or cash, at the time of the hack the price was 67.800 

Anyhow, weird that in order to repay 300millions they took a loan of 32 million, and are looking for an additional 300 million in backing and 17 millions in subdebt, so not only they seek more money but didn't they have any reserves or assets?

[TomPluz]

It's been some time since exchange/service hack lead to such huge financial loss. And while they they'll replace customer Bitcoin, who knows when will customer receive the replacement. Your opinion is greatly appreciated.

I am expecting that just like what happened to the Binance hack, DMM Bitcoin will also be able to return what was lost by their customers and will continue to be doing business in the Japanese crypto market although I would expect that because of this digital heist they will end up wiser and more security-conscious at all levels and in all aspects of operation so that there will be no part 2 of the incident which pulled away a big part of the company's finances and people's trust and confidence. This hack is considered to be the largest since the $477 million hack suffered by FTX in November 2022. So right now, DMM is now part of the history of getting to be long list of hacked crypto exchanges. And as what I am saying always, this is not the first nor the last so there will be more...we just have to watch for them on the news. Now, I am wondering if the hackers can be coming from North Korea since they are always needing more funds to finance their cult leader's crazy stuffs and plans.