Japanese crypto exchange DMM Bitcoin confirmed on Friday that it had been the victim of a hack resulting in the theft of 4,502.9 bitcoin, or about $305 million. 
The company also promised that all customers’ Bitcoin deposits “will be fully guaranteed as we will procure the equivalent amount of BTC that was leaked with support from our group companies.”
DMM Bitcoin did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
According to De.Fi, the web3 security firm that tracks crypto thefts and scams, hackers stole around $2 billion in crypto across dozens of cyberattacks and thefts last year. While that is still a gargantuan amount of crypto, the total was the lowest since 2020.

Tom Robinson, chief scientist and co-founder of the crypto research firm Elliptic, said that if DMM's loss turned out to be theft, it would be the eighth largest crypto theft of all time, based on exchange rates at the time it occurred.
Around $1.7 billion was stolen from various cryptocurrency platforms last year, crypto research firm Chainalysis said.

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The positive verdict on spot ether ETFs last week will kickstart a price rally, according to Rachel Lin, the CEO of SynFutures.
According to commentary published after the funds' approval on Thursday, Lin expects that ether could reach between $15,000 to $22,500 this cycle. The high-end forecast implies a 503% gain from current prices levels of around $3,890.
The price of ether will climb to between $15,000 and $22,500 this cycle, SynFutures CEO Rachel Lin says.She sees demand factors and a stallout in new supply adding price upside to the coin."Now the spot ETH ETF is approved, all indicators indicate a massive ETH bull run in the coming months," she said.
"Ethereum ETF approval is one of the most significant bullish events for Ethereum and the entire ecosystem," Lin wrote, adding: "Even if ETH ETF does not gain as much traction as bitcoin in the initial weeks and months, it will still likely attract a staggeringly large amount of capital in the long run."
A few reasons back her thesis, but generally, it's that ethereum is a tough contender against bitcoin.
For one, ether offers an annual yield through staking, and is more than just a store of value asset. The ethereum blockchain is exposed to technologies such as DeFi and NFTs, offering it more functionality than bitcoin.
"Bitcoin could become the Dow Jones of crypto ETFs, while Ethereum becomes its NASDAQ," Lin said.
Upside will also follow from a well-established correlation between bitcoin and ether pricing, which should actually tighten, Lin said. Not only is this because of the tech crypto's rising demand, but also due to a major supply shift that occurred in September 2022:
"The 20-month period before that date saw ETH supply increase from 114 million to 120 million, an increase of 5%. Today, 20 months since that date, ETH supply remains at the same 120 million," Lin said. "Bitcoin, on the other hand, has seen its supply increase by 2.9% during the same period."
In that case, ether could reach the $22,500 target if bitcoin manages to climb to $150,000 this year, an estimate frequently published by Standard Chartered. The asset is currently trading at over $68,000.