Cryptocurrency traders filed a lawsuit Thursday against Japanese exchange firm Coincheck for freezing withdrawals after hackers stole hundreds of millions of dollars in digital assets.
Seven
people took part in the lawsuit filed at the Tokyo District Court,
plaintiffs' lawyer Hiromu Mochizuki told AFP before the filing.
The hack of Coincheck
-- resulting in the disappearance of NEM cryptocurrency worth $530
million (roughly Rs. 3,400 crores) -- was one of the largest of its
kind, and prompted authorities to search the firm's office earlier this
month, after slapping it with an administrative order.
The company
has pledged to reimburse about $400 million
to all 260,000 customers who lost their holdings of NEM, the 10th
biggest cryptocurrency by market capitalisation.
Coincheck halted
operations after the hack and prevented traders from withdrawing their
virtual currency from the exchange -- a decision that left those assets
in limbo while the cryptocurrency markets continued to move.
"Plaintiffs are demanding Coincheck return their cryptocurrencies -- 13 different kinds including NEM," Mochizuki said.
On
Tuesday, Coincheck said it had resumed operations for withdrawals
denominated in Japanese yen but has still frozen withdrawals of a dozen
different kinds of cryptocurrencies.
Plaintiffs are demanding the
reimbursement of their digital cash and also considering calling for
compensation for the drop in their assets' value while withdrawals were
halted.
Japanese officials have suggested Coincheck lacked proper security measures, leaving itself vulnerable to theft.
In
the wake of the theft, the country's Financial Services Agency
instructed more than a dozen local exchanges to submit reports on their
efforts to monitor systemic risks.
Thieves syphoned away 523
million units of the cryptocurrency NEM from Coincheck during the
January 26 hack, exceeding the $480 million in virtual currency stolen
in 2014 from another Japanese exchange, MtGox.
That hack prompted
Japan to issue new regulations, requiring exchanges to obtain a licence
from the FSA, but Coincheck was allowed to continue operating while the
agency was reviewing its application.
Cryptocurrency traders filed a lawsuit Thursday against Japanese exchange firm Coincheck for freezing withdrawals after hackers stole hundreds of millions of dollars in digital assets.
Seven
people took part in the lawsuit filed at the Tokyo District Court,
plaintiffs' lawyer Hiromu Mochizuki told AFP before the filing.
The hack of Coincheck
-- resulting in the disappearance of NEM cryptocurrency worth $530
million (roughly Rs. 3,400 crores) -- was one of the largest of its
kind, and prompted authorities to search the firm's office earlier this
month, after slapping it with an administrative order.
The company
has pledged to reimburse about $400 million
to all 260,000 customers who lost their holdings of NEM, the 10th
biggest cryptocurrency by market capitalisation.
Coincheck halted
operations after the hack and prevented traders from withdrawing their
virtual currency from the exchange -- a decision that left those assets
in limbo while the cryptocurrency markets continued to move.
"Plaintiffs are demanding Coincheck return their cryptocurrencies -- 13 different kinds including NEM," Mochizuki said.
On
Tuesday, Coincheck said it had resumed operations for withdrawals
denominated in Japanese yen but has still frozen withdrawals of a dozen
different kinds of cryptocurrencies.
Plaintiffs are demanding the
reimbursement of their digital cash and also considering calling for
compensation for the drop in their assets' value while withdrawals were
halted.
Japanese officials have suggested Coincheck lacked proper security measures, leaving itself vulnerable to theft.
In
the wake of the theft, the country's Financial Services Agency
instructed more than a dozen local exchanges to submit reports on their
efforts to monitor systemic risks.
Thieves syphoned away 523
million units of the cryptocurrency NEM from Coincheck during the
January 26 hack, exceeding the $480 million in virtual currency stolen
in 2014 from another Japanese exchange, MtGox.
That hack prompted
Japan to issue new regulations, requiring exchanges to obtain a licence
from the FSA, but Coincheck was allowed to continue operating while the
agency was reviewing its application.
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