DMM Bitcoin
HackedExchange · born 2018 · ✝ 2024
A Japanese exchange hit by one of 2024's largest crypto thefts.
DMM Bitcoin, a subsidiary of Tokyo-based DMM Group, suffered a massive hack in May 2024 when attackers stole approximately $305M in Bitcoin — among the largest exchange breaches of the year.
- Peak
- Major licensed Japanese exchange
- Cause
- Hacked
- Year of death
- 2024
☠️ Cause of death
Attackers exfiltrated a large BTC balance from the exchange's hot-wallet infrastructure. DMM Group pledged to reimburse customers and later sold the exchange business to SBI, but the incident exposed persistent hot-wallet risk at regulated venues.
📓 Lessons left behind
- —Licensed exchanges are not immune to catastrophic theft.
- —Hot-wallet concentration remains the industry's Achilles' heel.
- —Parent-company guarantees can save users but not the brand.
🌱 The idea that survived
Insured, cold-first custody
Japanese regulators and exchanges accelerated cold-storage ratios and insurance pools after DMM and peer incidents.
#exchange#hack#japan#hot-wallet