Hackers Steal $305 Million From DMM Bitcoin Crypto Exchange (techcrunch.com) 28
Japanese crypto exchange DMM Bitcoin confirmed on Friday that it had been the victim of a hack resulting in the theft of 4,502.9 bitcoin, or about $305 million. From a report: According to crypto security firm Elliptic, this is the eighth largest crypto theft in history. DMM Bitcoin said it detected "an unauthorized leak of Bitcoin (BTC) from our wallet" on Friday and that it was still investigating and had taken measures to stop further thefts. The crypto exchange said it also "implemented restrictions on the use of some services to ensure additional safety," according to a machine translation of the company's official blog post (written in Japanese).
Good thing (Score:5, Funny)
Good thing it wasn't real currency that was stolen.
Re: (Score:3)
DMM is a weird company. Started out as a porn outfit. After a couple of decades of doing porn, they decided to spin that bit off as Fanza and use the DMM name for streaming TV and crypto.
Re:Good thing (Score:4, Interesting)
Good thing it wasn't real currency that was stolen.
That would have required a forklift. According to Google, $1M in 100s weighs about 22 lbs, so $305M would weigh 6,710 lbs.
Re: (Score:2)
I was going to make a joke about $10,000 bills but never mind...
https://www.usa.gov/currency#:... [usa.gov].
Re: (Score:2)
I was going to make a joke about $10,000 bills but never mind... https://www.usa.gov/currency#:... [usa.gov].
There was once a $100,000 [wikipedia.org] note "designated for Federal Reserve use. The bill never circulated publicly, rather having been used as a large denomination note for gold transactions between Federal Reserve Banks."
Not your keys (Score:4)
Not your crypto. Don't store your cryptocurrency on a CEX unless you're prepared to lose it to a hack or an inside job.
Re: (Score:2)
>Don't store your cryptocurrency on a CEX unless you're prepared to lose it to a hack or an inside job.
You give away your crypto for a promise from the 'exchange'. You can't 'store' crypto, you are either in control of it or you aren't.
Re: (Score:3)
Don't store your cryptocurrency on a CEX unless you're prepared to lose it to a hack or an inside job.
Sure, but it's really inconvenient to pay your drug dealer face to face.
Re: (Score:3)
I can pay someone in crypto from a non-custodial wallet (Ledger or Trezor) as easily as a custodial wallet (which is what exchanges run).
People need to learn the lesson that is taught repeatedly... if you have to use an exchange, just use it so you can bounce BTC to USD/BTC to EUR, or vice versa. Don't use an exchange for storage, because they often have one key, and if that key gets compromised, game over, another MtGox. Yes, you need to do some thinking when using a non-custodial wallet (for example, ma
Re: (Score:2)
Exactly. Relying on an exchange brings an additional layer of risk that can't be ignored.
Re: (Score:2)
If you were really into that sort of thing, you'd be using a private wallet and not an exchange. Ill-informed snark is the worst sort.
Re: (Score:2)
If you were really into that sort of thing
Well, you nailed it. I'm not into illicit drugs or doing moronic things with my money. I truly am the worst sort.
Another bitcoin rug pull, yawn (Score:3)
When my bank gets robbed, I lose nothing.
When my bitcoin exchange gets robbed, I lose everything.
Great way to store wealth.
Re: Another bitcoin rug pull, yawn (Score:1)
Technically your bank, insurance or you should eat the cost of the robbery, the fact the bank gets robbed and the government just prints more money to replace it is a bug, not a feature. Every time the bank gets robbed (whether that is criminals or the government doing it), your money becomes less valuable.
Re: Another bitcoin rug pull, yawn (Score:4, Insightful)
That is entirely true. The crime is socialized. We all pay it, yes. But I'd rather we each pay a small bit for the losses of all the others than wake up one day as a slashdot headline.
Re: (Score:2)
That is entirely true. The crime is socialized. We all pay it, yes. But I'd rather we each pay a small bit for the losses of all the others than wake up one day as a slashdot headline.
If you're thinking about FDIC insurance, I noted here [slashdot.org], with references, that it only covers losses from bank failure, NOT fraud or theft.
Re: (Score:2)
If you're thinking about FDIC insurance, I noted here [slashdot.org], with references, that it only covers losses from bank failure, NOT fraud or theft.
Fraud or theft is usually covered under "too big to fail" government bailouts.
Re: (Score:2)
the bank gets robbed and the government just prints more money to replace
lol citation please
Re: (Score:2)
Technically your bank, insurance or you should eat the cost of the robbery, the fact the bank gets robbed and the government just prints more money to replace it is a bug, not a feature.
Technically... From Are the deposits in my bank insured? What is FDIC insurance? [helpwithmybank.gov] and Deposit Insurance At A Glance [fdic.gov]
Your deposits are insured only if your bank has Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) deposit insurance. This insurance covers deposits in the event of a bank failure, but it does NOT cover losses due to fraud and theft -- those are covered by other laws.
I don't have references for those "other laws", but don't think the government covers those losses.
Re: (Score:2)
Technically your bank, insurance or you should eat the cost of the robbery, the fact the bank gets robbed and the government just prints more money to replace it is a bug, not a feature. Every time the bank gets robbed (whether that is criminals or the government doing it), your money becomes less valuable.
Technically, no. It's not "printing money". FDIC insurance doesn't come without a massive amount of regulations and oversight that makes crime and failure nearly impossible.
If millions of people become destitute overnight because of criminals, that's bad for society. Setting aside the sudden influx of wards of the state, people will be reluctant to invest / use banks, and instead will keep their money under their mattresses. That means there's less money in circulation to lend / invest. That shrinks the eco
Re: (Score:1)
FDIC insurance doesn't cover theft, fraud etc. I'm fine if there is another (private) insurance involved, but typically the dollar value in your bank is backstopped by the government, not by the bank.
Re: (Score:2)
I have my accounts spread across multiple banks. 90% of my money is FDIC covered in big na e banks.
I have a few gold bars. I used to have more but sold several after gold went way up. They're pretty fucking heavy for how small they are. They're deceptively small for their weight.
I'm ok taking a small hit rather than hoping each morning isn't the one I wake up broke after a "bank rug pull".
I also pay for home, car, health, and other insurance. For expensive things I even biy the rip off extra warranty b
Re: (Score:2)
When my bank gets robbed, I lose nothing.
More importantly, bank robbery may result in at most tens of thousands of USD being lost. Banks don't store hundreds of millions in cash.
And if the hackers want to steal money electronically, then all transactions can be rolled back. For example, the largest ever bank hack resulted in $1B of fraudulent transactions ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org] ), but nearly all of that money was recovered. Only around $60m was lost.
This won't stop (Score:4, Interesting)
This won't stop until exchanges get government regulation. Of course that makes them useless for avoiding taxes, buying drugs, and taking out hits on your ex-spouse.
It wasn't "hacked". Guarantee it's an inside job. The temptation of hundreds of millions of dollars is simply too great. If it can disappear, sooner or later it's going to.