Japanese Brokerage Firm May Acquire Hacked Coincheck Exchange

Update (April 3, 12:34 UTC):, Monex has issued a press release to confirm it is considering taking over Coincheck, but that such a move hasn't been finalized.

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Tokyo-based cryptocurrency exchange Coincheck, which suffered a major hack early this year, may soon be under new management.

According to Nikkei sources, Monex – an online brokerage firm also based in japan – is considering buying a majority stake in the exchange. Under the possible deal, Monex would reportedly replace the management team and rebuild the Coincheck platform itself.

If it goes ahead, the deal could be worth "several billion yen" and could be announced this week, Nikkei adds.

However, the acquisition has still not been officially confirmed by the broker, and a report from Reuters states that, when contacted for confirmation of the news, Coincheck said that it hadn’t released information on any deal.

Following the report, Monex shares shot up by 23 percent, the maximum permitted by the Tokyo Stock Exchange, Nikkei says.

Coincheck found itself in deep water with both customers and regulators following the hack of about $530 million-worth of cryptocurrency that occurred in late January.

Since then, it has faced investigations from Japan's Financial Services Agency over security failures and its ability to repay users that lost funds in the heist.

Coincheck has pledged to reimburse users at a rate of $0.81 per token – which would result in a total payout near $420 million. Even so, the exchange has been faced with several lawsuits from investors claiming refunds and compensation.

Japanese yen image via Shutterstock