Japanese Crypto Exchange Hit by $305M Bitcoin Theft

A Japanese crypto exchange operator reported a loss of over $300 million worth of bitcoin due to an “unauthorized leak” on Friday.

DMM Bitcoin shared the details in a blog post, revealing that 4,502.9 BTC, worth $305.1 million at current market prices, was stolen.

The exchange assured customers that their Bitcoin deposits will be fully guaranteed. They plan to obtain the equivalent amount of BTC lost, with support from their group companies. However, they did not provide a timeline for this process.

The theft occurred at 1:26 p.m. Tokyo time. This aligns with a 4,502 BTC transaction flagged by the Whale Alert account on X.

DMM Bitcoin has halted crypto withdrawals, spot market purchase orders, and new leveraged trading positions. They are also screening new account openings. Withdrawals in yen may take longer than usual.

The exchange did not specify when services would resume but mentioned that a separate announcement would provide more information.

According to a report from Nikkei, a Japanese news service, DMM Bitcoin had about 370,000 customer accounts at the end of 2023.

If confirmed, this theft would be one of the largest-ever crypto exchange attacks.

In 2018, Coincheck experienced a theft of 58 billion yen or about $533 million worth of crypto. Monax, an online brokerage firm, acquired Coincheck later that year.

Japan is also known for the infamous collapse of the Bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox, which lost over $400 million in 2014. The process of distributing funds to creditors has been ongoing for nearly a decade and is nearing completion.