December 4, 2024
Finally, Japanese cryptocurrency exchange DMM Bitcoin has shut down after a $320 million hack. The company has been trying to recover customer assets for months but is now transferring accounts to SBIVC Trade.
DMM Bitcoin Close
According to Nikkei, DMM Bitcoin, a Japanese cryptocurrency exchange, is liquidating. This comes several months after a $320 million hack targeted the platform, significantly disrupting operations. The company’s social media accounts make no mention of the shutdown, and its blog appears to be down.
However, DMM Bitcoin issued a statement while the blog was still active.
“With the protection of our customers as our top priority, we have decided to transfer all accounts and assets held with us to another company,” DMM Bitcoin said, quoted externally. “We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience we have caused you over a long period of time. As a result, the company plans to cease operations once the transfer is complete.”
In other words, the shutdown was a tough decision. Despite the severity of the May hack, DMM Bitcoin tried to remain solvent: In June, for example, the company ran a fundraising campaign to recover stolen user assets. Its success in doing so remains inconclusive. The company has abandoned the effort and will transfer its remaining assets to SBIVC Trade, an exchange operator.
After the hack, prominent cryptocurrency investigator Zach XBT accused the Lazarus Group, a North Korean hacker group, of involvement in the attack. Zach XBT traced about $35 million from the hack to a money laundering service in Cambodia and discovered strong evidence of Lazarus’ involvement. However, DMM Bitcoin did not make much of this knowledge.
Cryptocurrency hacks are down significantly, but criminals are still carrying out sophisticated and successful operations. The need to use secure and reliable cryptocurrency exchanges remains. Japan’s financial regulator warned other Japanese exchanges to be supervised and registered less than a week before the DMM Bitcoin shutdown.