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Bitpoint Exchange Hacked for $32 Million in Cryptocurrency

Bitpoint, a licensed cryptocurrency exchange based in Japan, has had $32 million-worth of crypto assets stolen from the platform.

(Shutterstock)
(Shutterstock)

Bitpoint, a licensed cryptocurrency exchange based in Japan, has been hacked for $32 million in crypto assets.

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According to a CoinDesk Japan report on Friday, Bitpoint halted all services including trading, deposit and withdrawal of all crypto assets on Friday morning after it noticed irregular withdrawal from its hot wallet on Thursday.

It is not yet clear at this stage which types of assets were lost, the exchange offered trading for five cryptocurrencies: bitcoin, bitcoin cash, ether, litecoin and XRP.

The exchange's parent company Remixpoint Inc. said in an announcement that $23 million of the illegal outflow belonged to its customers.

The news marks the latest breach of a Japanese exchange. In September 2018, Zaif, also a licensed exchange under the Japanese Financial Services Agency, was hacked for $60 million worth of cryptocurrencies.

Earlier last year, Coincheck was also breached, resulting in more than $520 million worth of cryptocurrencies being stolen.

Japanese yen image via Shutterstock

Wolfie Zhao

A member of the CoinDesk editorial team since June 2017, Wolfie now focuses on writing business stories related to blockchain and cryptocurrency. Twitter: @wolfiezhao. Email: wolfie@coindesk.com. Telegram: wolfiezhao

Picture of CoinDesk author Wolfie Zhao