48 billion yen worth of Bitcoin disappears from Japanese exchanges

Japanese cryptocurrency exchange operator DMM Bitcoin announced on Friday (May 31) that digital assets worth at least 48.2 billion yen (about $300 million) mysteriously disappeared. The Tokyo-based company, a subsidiary of large IT company DMM.com LLC, reported that it had discovered anomalies at around 1:26 p.m. that day. In response, DMM Bitcoin suspended operations, including withdrawals of virtual currencies and processing new account applications.

The incident is the second-largest cryptocurrency loss in Japanese history, second only to the Coincheck theft in 2018, when 58 billion yen was stolen. The loss prompted an investigation by the Tokyo police, who received a report from DMM Bitcoin after discovering the missing assets. DMM trades in about 40 different cryptocurrencies. According to the company's fiscal year report (ending March 2023), the company has about 377,000 accounts. The sudden disappearance of such a large amount of digital assets has raised serious concerns about the exchange's existing security measures and protocols.

Following this incident, the exchange promised its users that it would take all necessary steps to investigate the cause of the disappearance and improve its security systems to prevent such incidents from happening again. This incident serves as a reminder of the risks associated with trading Bitcoin and the importance of strong security measures to protect digital assets. The wider cryptocurrency community is closely watching this investigation, which highlights the ongoing problems exchanges face in protecting user assets and maintaining trust in the rapidly evolving digital asset markets. As the crisis develops, DMM Bitcoin's response and the findings of the Tokyo police investigation will be key in determining future moves for the exchange and its consumers. $BTC $ETH