Japan-based financial giant SBI Holdings has formed a significant partnership with the cryptocurrency exchange DMM Bitcoin $94,450, which suffered a cyber attack in May. As part of this agreement, the accounts and assets of DMM Bitcoin users will be transferred to SBI Holdings’ subsidiary, SBI VC Trade, by March 2025. Users will not need to create new accounts during this process.
Impact of the Cyber Attack on DMM Bitcoin
The cyber attack in May severely impacted the DMM Bitcoin exchange, resulting in the theft of 320 million dollars’ worth of Bitcoin. Following the incident, the exchange announced it would compensate its customers for their losses; however, progress in this area has been insufficient. The FBI revealed that the attack was linked to a criminal group known as TraderTraitor, associated with North Korea. Reports indicate that the attackers targeted a DMM Bitcoin employee via LinkedIn, leading to a system breach when the employee clicked on a malicious link.
The U.S. Department of the Treasury has raised concerns about North Korea’s money laundering activities in the cryptocurrency market. The North Korean hacking group Lazarus has previously targeted major exchanges like Upbit. A spokesperson from SBI VC Trade stated, “We are taking effective steps to protect the funds of DMM Bitcoin users.”
SBI VC Trade Awaits Users with New Products
SBI VC Trade plans to integrate the 14 cryptocurrency products offered by DMM Bitcoin into its platform. However, this integration will not include cryptocurrency trading pairs or leveraged transactions, and existing leveraged positions will not be transferred as they are. Users can obtain detailed information about the transfer through SBI VC Trade’s official channels.
This collaboration aims to ensure that users can trade securely. SBI Holdings intends to complete the account and asset transfer process smoothly for DMM Bitcoin users. This step taken to remedy the damage caused by the cyber attack is seen as an important development in the cryptocurrency market.