DMM Bitcoin Exchange Hacked for $305 Million

Unknown attackers have breached the Japanese cryptocurrency exchange DMM Bitcoin, extracting 4502.9 BTC (approximately $305 million at the time of writing). This was reported by CoinDesk.

Representatives of the platform confirmed the attack and stated that measures have been taken to prevent further unauthorized withdrawals. Clients will be fully compensated for their losses.

The exchange has imposed restrictions and warned that yen withdrawals “may take longer than usual.” Details of the hack have not been disclosed.

31 May 2024 | 17:45Update:

Analysts at Crystal Blockchain have identified a probable hacker’s address. This information is corroborated by CertiK.

Using CertiK’s SkyInsights transaction tracer we can see the BTC has been split into multiple wallets. pic.twitter.com/uTtfInIuWl

— CertiK Alert (@CertiKAlert) May 31, 2024

Crystal Blockchain noted that experts from Global Ledger suggested “address poisoning” — indicated by the similarity of the attacker’s address to DMM Bitcoin’s hot wallet.

Official information about the attack scheme remains unavailable.

Chainalysis described the hack of the Japanese exchange as the largest since December 2022 and the seventh largest in history.

? Today’s hack of Japanese exchange DMM Bitcoin for $305M worth of bitcoin is the the biggest hack since Dec 2022 and the 7th largest crypto hack ever. Chainalysis has labelled the stolen funds in our products. https://t.co/AkvIK5VIcD

— Chainalysis (@chainalysis) May 31, 2024

In 2018, hackers breached another Japanese trading platform, Coincheck, stealing over $500 million worth of NEM cryptocurrency (at the exchange rate at the time). A few months after the incident, the exchange was acquired by online broker Monex.

In April 2024, the cryptocurrency exchange FixedFloat suffered its second attack of the year. Experts estimated the damage at no less than $2.8 million.