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26/12/24
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SBI VC Trade Acquires DMM Bitcoin Assets After Major Cyber Breach
SBI VC Trade, a Japanese company specializing in cryptocurrency finance, has announced its acquisition of assets from the compromised crypto exchange DMM Bitcoin. Customers of DMM Bitcoin can expect their accounts to be operational by March 2025. In a notice issued recently, SBI confirmed that it would accept all customer accounts and associated assets from DMM, with the transfer scheduled for March 8, 2025. The transition will be seamless, as existing DMM customers will not need to create new accounts; SBI will automatically facilitate the account setup for them.
DMM Bitcoin had previously declared its intent to liquidate and migrate its customers to SBI following a significant cyber breach last May, during which hackers stole approximately $320 million from the exchange. The cyberattack led to the theft of keys to wallets holding around 4,500 Bitcoin. In the wake of this incident, DMM Bitcoin pledged to reimburse customers for their losses.
Recent investigations by multiple agencies, including the FBI and Japan’s National Police Agency, have linked the DMM Bitcoin hack to a North Korean cybercrime group known as TraderTraitor. The attack involved an orchestrated plan where a member of the group posed as a recruiter on LinkedIn to infiltrate the operations of Ginco, a company that managed wallet software for DMM. By sending a malicious script disguised as a pre-employment test, the attackers gained unauthorized access to critical systems, ultimately allowing them to exploit a transaction request that resulted in the massive Bitcoin theft.
The frequency and devastation of hacks targeting centralized cryptocurrency services have surged, with total losses surpassing $694 million in 2024 alone, marking a significant increase from the previous year. Among the notable incidents this year were the breaches of both DMM Bitcoin and the Indian exchange WazirX, which saw losses reaching $235 million.
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