‘The Biggest Theft in History’: What We Know So Far About the $530 Million Coincheck Hack

It’s official. Tokyo-based cryptocurrency exchange Coincheck was hacked in what is believed to be the largest exchange theft ever carried out. This story is continually developing, but here’s what we know so far.

This Was the Largest Cryptocurrency Exchange Hack in History
In a press conference, Coincheck executives confirmed that the hackers absconded with more than 500 million NEM, worth approximately $530 million at the time of the hack, although Nikkei Veritas tweeted from the conference that the exact amount of funds stolen will not be known until officials conduct a detailed investigation.

The Coincheck hack supplanted Mt. Gox as the biggest cryptocurrency exchange hack in history. The Mt. Gox thief made off with approximately 850,000 bitcoins, worth roughly $450 million at the time.

Granted, the Mt. Gox hack was larger as a percentage of the total cryptocurrency market cap at the time of the theft, but in pure fiscal terms Coincheck now holds the infamous distinction of having been victim to the biggest cryptocurrency exchange hack in history.

As of the time of writing, the hacker had moved 300,000 XEM tokens to another address, and both addresses had been flagged with a mosaic warning other exchanges to not accept the funds.

The Coincheck Hacker Only Breached the Exchange’s NEM Wallet
Coincheck executives said that the hack was isolated to Coincheck’s NEM wallet and that its other funds remain secure.

This brought to relief to many traders, as early reports made it appear as though the hacker had infiltrated multiple wallets. A Ripple ledger monitor flagged a $110 million XRP transaction sent from Coincheck to an unknown wallet that currently holds more than $3 billion worth of XRP.

0.60% $11,130.7
PIE
PERSISTENT INFORMATION EXCHANGE
+325.53%
$0.015
RIDE
RIDE MY CAR
-60.59%
$0.001
ALTCOIN NEWS JANUARY 26, 2018 23:27
‘The Biggest Theft in History’: What We Know So Far About the $530 Million Coincheck Hack
Bitcoin Theft
Get Trading Recommendations and Read Analysis on Hacked.com for just $39 per month.