In what will be another big hit to the cryptocurrency industry in Japan, an exchange known as Zaif has lost customer funds worth 6.7 billion yen ($59.6 million). According to a press release by the crypto exchange, users have been unable to make deposits or withdrawals since September 14, the same day the ugly incident took place.
“Unauthorized access from the outside was conducted from around 17 o’clock on September 14, 2018 to around 19 o’clock on the server managing the hot wallet for the deposit and withdrawal, and the virtual wallet managed by the hot wallet Currency (BTC, MONA, BCH) was illegally remitted,” read the press release.
Even though the exact amount of cryptocurrency lost by the exchange has not been fully determined, the firm revealed that its “unique assets are approximately 2.2 billion yen, and the virtual currency equivalent to customer’s assets is about 4.5 billion yen.”
This includes some units of Bitcoin (5966), Bitcoin Cash, and Mona coin which is Japan’s first native cryptocurrency.
Hacked Zaif Exchange Already Riding Its Way Back
Following the ugly incident, the firm has stepped up plans to reopen withdrawal and deposits on its platform as soon as possible.
After the hacking damage was confirmed on 18th September, the exchange says that it has reported to the Treasury Department. Investigations are also in progress courtesy of a third party firm identified in the release as Kaichi Corporation.
Japan’s Financial Service Agency which is the watchdog for crypto exchanges in the country has been notified.
It is worth mentioning that Zaif is a member of Japan’s Virtual Currency Exchange Association and is also among the 16 licensed crypto exchanges operating in Japan.
The recent hack event is now the second big hack incident reported in Japan. Earlier this year, Coincheck was reportedly hacked of around $534 million but has since made a return to the business.
Will Zaif follow suit?
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