Japanese cryptocurrency exchange Coincheck said it would return more than 46.3 billion yen or around $425 million worth of digital currency to owners, that was lost in a hacking attack.
In one of the biggest-ever cryptocurrency thefts, Coincheck's around 260,000 customers lost their NEM cryptocurrency coins on Friday. The hacking forced the Tokyo-based company to suspend trading as it detected unauthorized access of its digital exchange.
According to Coinmarketcap, NEM is in the 10th place, valued $0.977 as of 12.30 am. ET, down 5.8 percent, with a market cap of $8.78 billion.
The company has promised to refund nearly 90 percent of the coins lost. Coincheck will use its own funds to make the refund.
In a statement, the company noted that hackers broke in 17:57 GMT Thursday, but it discovered the breach nearly eight and a half hours later. After finding out the breach Friday, the company said it suspended deposits and withdrawals for all cryptocurrencies except Bitcoin.
The stolen Coincheck assets were kept in a hot wallet, which is a part of the exchange connected to the internet, instead of a more secure cold wallet, where funds are stored offline. The company cited technical difficulties and a shortage of specialized staff as the reason.
Coincheck said it has the digital address of where the assets were sent. According to chief operating officer Yusuke Otsuka, 523 million NEMs had been sent from Coincheck's NEM address during the breach.
The company has reported the hacking to the police and to Japan's Financial Services Agency or FSA.
In Japan, as many as 10,000 businesses are said to accept cryptocurrencies.
As per reports, Japan's FSA sent a notice to nearly 30 virtual currency exchanges in the country, urging them to step up security before further possible cyber-attacks.
In Japan, Coincheck's application for registration, submitted in September, is still pending.
The news comes amid fresh warnings about cryptocurrency dangers issued by world leaders in Davos following concerns that the money is being used for illicit activity.
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