Japan-Based DMM Bitcoin Plans to Raise Funds to Buy BTC After Suffering Major Hack

Crypto exchange DMM Bitcoin based in Japan, which suffered a major hack losing 4,502.9 Bitcoin on Friday, is planning to raise funds to buy BTC in order to compensate its customers.

Per a Bloomberg report, the exchange mulls raising 50 billion yen (around $321 million). The funds would “take care” of the world’s largest crypto from being affected by the hack, it added.

Further, the DMM Bitcoin said Wednesday that an investigation is ongoing on the planned “unauthorized outflow,” which occurred last week.

The incident, which is considered seventh-biggest crypto hack ever according to Chainalysis data, amassed $305 million worth of customer funds. The company noted in a public statement, calling it an “unauthorized leak of Bitcoin (BTC) from our wallet.”

“We are still investigating the details of the damage. Please rest assured that all of your Bitcoin deposits will be fully guaranteed,” the exchange promised at the time.

“We will procure the equivalent amount of BTC that was leaked with support from our companies,” DMM Bitcoin posted after the hack.

Following the hack, the Japanese Financial Services Agency has advised DMM Bitcoin to report on the customer compensation policies, Bloomberg added. Additionally, Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki stressed that the government will work to prevent such incidents on the country’s crypto exchanges.

Japan’s Crypto Heists

There has been several instances of crypto exchange heists in Japan similar to DMM Bitcoin. In August 2021, Tokyo-based cryptocurrency exchange Liquid fell victim to a major hack, where, perpetrators breached its servers and stole cryptos estimated to be worth at least $94 million at the time.

Hackers apparently took control over Liquid’s ‘warm’ wallets, draining the cryptos. Following this, the exchange moved the rest of its funds into cold wallets (offline accounts).

Another notable Japanese crypto exchange hack occurred in 2018 on Coincheck, compromising 523 million of the exchange’s NEM coins.