Japanese digital asset exchange DMM Bitcoin revealed that over $300 million worth of Bitcoin was stolen from the exchange on Friday, 31 May 2024, in what appears to be one of the largest hacks in recent times.
Timeline For The Hack
Around 1:30pm local time, DMM said it noticed that some 4503 BTC – worth around $308 million at the time – had ”illegally leaked” from its wallet. The exchange has not yet provided further details as to how the hack was carried out.
DMM has said an investigation is underway on the matter and the exchange has taken measures to prevent a repeat incident from occurring.
BREAKING‼️- DMM Bitcoin, a cryptocurrency exchange based in Japan, reported a loss of 48 billion yen ($305 million) worth of #Bitcoin due to a hack.
According to a blog post on their website, 4,502.9 Bitcoin "leaked" from the exchange. pic.twitter.com/9z1DGkDdr0
— Swan (@Swan) May 31, 2024
The company says that it will continue to guarantee all customer BTC deposits following the hack. However, there have been some restrictions placed on the exchange. Spot trading, the opening of leveraged trading positions, and screening of new account openings have all been temporarily suspended.
Lastly, DMM has suspended crypto withdrawals for the time being. Users are still able to withdraw Japanese Yen from the exchange but have been warned it may take longer than usual.
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Biggest Crypto Exploit In Nearly 2 Years
The hack is the largest exploit within the crypto industry in some time. No hack within the last 18 months comes close to matching it in scale.
There were a number of huge exploits in 2022, directed at a mix of layer-1 blockchains, crypto exchanges, and DeFi protocols. The largest of that year saw hackers make off with around $566 million in BNB by exposing a vulnerability in the Binance Smart Chain bridge.
This hack on DMM Bitcoin appears to be the third largest in Japan’s history. In 2014, thieves stole 850,000 BTC from the Japanese exchange Mt. Gox, amounting to about $470 million at that time. Similarly, in 2018, another Japanese exchange, Coincheck, experienced a significant hack. This time resulting in a loss of nearly $500 million. These incidents highlight the ongoing security issues faced by both investors and companies, within the crypto industry.
Disclaimer: Crypto is a high-risk asset class. This article is provided for informational purposes and does not constitute investment advice. You could lose all of your capital.
