Another frenzy ensued in the crypto market as news emerged of a significant movement of stolen Bitcoin (BTC). On Thursday, June 27, a hacker, linked to the recent DMM Bitcoin breach, transferred 500 BTC. This transaction, worth approximately $30 million, raised concerns of a potential market dump, especially considering recent large-scale sell-offs by government entities and miners.
DMM Bitcoin Breach & Hacker’s Transfer Of Stolen Funds
According to a post on X by Peck Shield Alert, a DMM Bitcoin hacker moved 500 BTC stolen from the exchange to a new address. As the news came in, it sparked speculations around a significant market dump amid the Bitcoin price volatility. However, currently, on-chain transactions don’t suggest a crypto exchange dump of the stolen BTC reserve. Nonetheless, the fear remains as the hacker may liquidate holdings to amass a profit.
Earlier this month, on June 3, DMM Bitcoin, one of Japan’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, reported a substantial security breach. The incident resulted in the theft of 4,502.9 BTC, estimated to be worth over $300 million at the time.
Moreover, unauthorized access to the exchange’s wallet highlighted significant vulnerabilities in its security infrastructure. In response to the breach, DMM Bitcoin took swift action, implementing measures to prevent further unauthorized access.
They temporarily suspended new account openings, crypto asset withdrawals, and the acceptance of new buying orders for spot trading. Additionally, the exchange restricted all spot purchases on the platform. The exchange also warned that withdrawals in Japanese yen “may take more time than usual.”
Furthermore, Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) has mandated DMM Bitcoin to investigate the breach thoroughly. In addition, the FSA asked the exchange to implement measures to safeguard customers from potential damages. In an official statement, DMM Bitcoin assured its customers about their BTC holdings.
The exchange wrote, “Please be assured that all your Bitcoin (BTC) deposits will be completely covered. We will procure the equivalent amount of BTC that was compromised with the support of our group companies.” DMM Bitcoin added, “We deeply apologize for any inconvenience caused to our customers.”
June BTC Dump
Simultaneously, the broader Bitcoin market has been experiencing significant sell-offs. The German government made headlines by liquidating its Bitcoin holdings. It recently transferring another 595 BTC to major crypto exchanges. This offloading is part of a larger sell-off strategy as a German government address has sold over 2,000 BTC in recent days.
Tapping into Germany’s footsteps, the U.S. government moved a substantial 4,000 BTC, worth $241 million, to Coinbase Prime on June 26. Following the news of the U.S. government’s dump, the Bitcoin price dropped by 1.5% drop to below $61,000. Moreover, Bitcoin miners have been offloading their holdings, selling over 30,000 BTC worth $2 billion to limit losses as hashprice plummeted. In addition, Bitcoin whales have also joined the fray. They had contributed to over $4 billion in BTC sales earlier this month.
These extensive sell-offs have contributed to Bitcoin’s current price hovering just above the critical $60,000 support level. Technically, Bitcoin is trading under the 50-day simple moving average (SMA) but higher than the 200-day SMA. This indicates a market indecisiveness between bullish and bearish sentiments.
Amid market volatility, short liquidations have exceeded longs as Bitcoin witnessed a slight rebound today. According to Coinglass data, short liquidations amounted to $18.01 million. Moreover, these traders are expected to buy back their BTC positions to limit losses, potentially catalyzing further rebound. However, longs gave a tough fight with over $10 million liquidated in the last 24 hours.
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