DMM Bitcoin to Shut Down After Devastating Hack

DMM Bitcoin, a Japanese cryptocurrency exchange, will shut down operations after suffering a more than $300 hack in May.

On Nov. 27, the exchange confirmed plans to transfer customer accounts and custodial assets to SBI VC Trade, a subsidiary of the Japanese financial giant SBI Group. The transfer is expected to be completed by March 2025.

“All assets held by customers in accounts already opened with DMM Bitcoin... are scheduled to be transferred to the company around March 2025,” the notice said, according to a Google translation.

On May 31, DMM Bitcoin announced that hackers had stolen 4,502.9 BTC (worth roughly $306 million at the time) from the platform.

Although DMM Bitcoin assured customers that user deposits “will be fully guaranteed,” creditors have not yet been reimbursed. However, the company secured $365.1 million in June through funding and borrowing initiatives to cover losses.

In July, blockchain investigator ZachXBT reported that approximately $35 million of the stolen cryptocurrency from the DMM Bitcoin hack had been laundered through Huione Guarantee, an online marketplace notorious for facilitating crypto scams.

ZachXBT suggested Lazarus Group, a North Korean state-sponsored hacking organization, may have been behind the attack.

“It is suspected that Lazarus Group is behind the hack due to similarities in laundering techniques and off-chain indicators,” ZachXBT said.

DMM Bitcoin is currently owned by the e-commerce giant, DMM Group, which also operates a crypto mining firm. The exchange launched in January 2018.

South Korea postpones crypto tax for the third time

In other regional news, South Korea’s National Assembly is set to delay the implementation of its proposed cryptocurrency gains tax for the third time.

On Dec. 1, local media reported that both Korea’s ruling and opposition parties agreed to push the introduction of capital gains taxation on crypto assets until 2027.

The proposed tax regime was first discussed in 2021, advocating for a 20% levy on annual cryptocurrency gains exceeding 2.5 million Korean won (approximately $1,784), significantly lower than the 50 million won ($37,400) threshold for stock market gains.

The measures were initially slated to take effect in 2022, but have faced repeated deferrals amid regulatory challenges and political opposition.

In July, South Korea's right-wing People Power Party warned that implementing the tax could harm the digital asset sector, citing a backdrop of uncertainty in the market.

“Given the declining investor sentiment towards virtual assets, which are high-risk and more likely to incur losses than stocks, it is widely accepted that hasty taxation could drive most investors away,” the party said. “We propose delaying the taxation of virtual asset income, currently set to begin on January 1, 2025, to January 1, 2028.”

Indonesian crypto volume up 350% in 2024

Indonesia’s cryptocurrency market has rebounded in 2024, with local trading volume tagging $30 billion from January through October — a 350% increase year-over-year.

The turnaround comes amid growing interest from young investors, with more than 60% of Indonesia’s crypto investors aged between 18 and 30.

The data was published by Indonesia’s Commodity Futures Trading Supervisory Agency.