Japanese crypto exchange DMM to close Bitcoin operations

Japanese cryptocurrency DMM Bitcoin will cease operations in March 2025 following a hack that cost more than $300 million.

This decision follows months of recovery efforts to restore the platform's viability.

DMM Bitcoin to transfer all assets to SBI VC business

According to a report from Nikkei Asia, the exchange plans to sell all its assets to SBI VC, a trading firm owned by SBI Group.

SBI VC Business has confirmed on December 2 that it has reached an agreement to acquire all the assets of DMM Bitcoin as part of its liquidation process. The transfer, which is expected to be completed by the end of Q1 2025, will include customer accounts and assets held by the exchange. Details about specific delivery methods and dates will be revealed in future announcements.

As part of the transition, the company plans to expand its services by offering 14 crypto spot trading options currently available on the DMM Bitcoin platform. The two organizations will continue to discuss the process of transferring assets and accounts.

DMM Bitcoin was hacked on May 31, 2024, with 4,502.9 BTC worth $305 million stolen at the time. The exchange confirmed the breach by suspending all spot purchase transactions and announcing that measures had been taken to prevent further unauthorized withdrawals.

In addition, he has assured customers that he will return the lost money by earning an equivalent amount of Bitcoin with the support of the companies. To this end, DMM Bitcoin secured a 5 billion yen loan in June and plans to raise an additional 50 billion yen to meet its obligations.

Unsuccessful recovery efforts

Despite recovery efforts, continued service limitations and increasing challenges forced the exchange to abandon its plans and eventually decide to cease operations.

In July, the attackers, believed to be the notorious Lazarus group, stole more than $35 million from Huione Guarantee, an online marketplace that has become a hotbed of illegal activity.

PeckShieldAlert reported that an additional 500 BTC was transferred by several wallets in August. But all attempts to recover the stolen funds have failed.

Following the $534 million Coincheck attack in 2018, the DMM Bitcoin hack is the second largest digital asset breach in Japan.

The Coincheck incident is primarily due to the exchange's inadequate security practices. Most of the stolen tokens were stored in a single online hot wallet protected by a private key, rather than in offline cold storage or secure multi-signature wallets as recommended by their issuers.