crime

Japan's financial regulator raids Coincheck after cyber theft

32 Comments
By Taiga Uranaka

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© Thomson Reuters 2018.

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32 Comments
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They really need to look into these CoinCheck guys, for example, for the refunds that they proposed, where did the money come from ? You don't just have 1/2 Billion US$ lying around in loose change....

The tech. issues are one thing, but what about those who're operating those "exchanges" ?

4 ( +5 / -1 )

bit late to close the gate when the horse has bolted. theyll have zero chance of getting that 46.3 billion yen back

3 ( +4 / -1 )

They really need to look into these CoinCheck guys, for example, for the refunds that they proposed, where did the money come from ? You don't just have 1/2 Billion US$ lying around in loose change....

I really hope the authorities are reading the comments on this story then, because I can't imagine anyone would ever think to investigate the company otherwise.

0 ( +5 / -5 )

The frustrating thing is that they told CC to fix their systems, but still allowed them to operate. They should have forced them to suspend operations until the security standards were cleared.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

Send these jokers to jail. They knew they had crap security and did nothing.

2 ( +4 / -2 )

mmwkdwToday 04:31 pm JST

They really need to look into these CoinCheck guys, for example, for the refunds that they proposed, where did the money come from ? You don't just have 1/2 Billion US$ lying around in loose change....

Have a look at the volume they do daily and their fees, this is just crazy.

Not sure about coincheck, but one of the biggest did 2B+ last 24h, with trading fees at maker 0.1%, taker 0.2%.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Based on what's been going on with the previous company, the owner of that company will be rich for life after paying restitution to his customers regardless if he was involved or not. It seems with the current laws in place that there is more incentive to be a criminal in this industry than to be an honest company.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Japan last year became the first country to regulate exchanges at the national level - a move that won praise for boosting innovation and protecting consumers, contrasting sharply with crackdowns in South Korea and China.

Won praise from whom, and also add India in that list of crackdowns.

https://qz.com/1195316/budget-2018-busts-bitcoin-arun-jaitley-has-just-killed-indias-cryptocurrency-party/

-3 ( +1 / -4 )

They should have forced them to suspend operations until the security standards were cleared.

What standards?

In other scandals I heard that there was an exchange in South Korea that was dealing in cryptocurrency that does not even use blockchain. Like a virtual ‘virtual currency’... now sure if this is true or just trash talk.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

FSA officials conducted surprise checks on Coincheck's office 

not sure that was a surprise.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

The Volume of Trading does not, lead to that amount of funds, do the math.

Given the time they've been around, they were either front-running the clients, or they orchestrated this whole event themselves in order to profit from a massive decline and subsequent reissue of tokens... the NEM organisation should also be investigated, though being in Singapore that would require some cross-border cooperation with Singapore...

1 ( +1 / -0 )

I'm annoyed that my tax money is being used to regulate this circus.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

@Eppee - show the workings please in US$ amounts (with sources - I'd love to learn...)

If indeed you are correct, then that begs the question why they could not afford to register with the FSA or even hire the staff that were needed.... something is amiss.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

@mmwkdw

I also agree the math doesn't work. It will take over 10 years to pay people back assuming they remain as popular as they are now. I read elsewhere that their promise to repay did not specify any timeline. I suspect it will not happen.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Yikes - bitcoin is now into the $7000 range! How low is it gonna go? With Japan’s FSA probe likely to spook more investors, it could bottom out anywhere...

1 ( +2 / -1 )

There is a political dimension at play here, across a broad range of parliamentary, governmental administrations.  

It just doesn't seem  to register that provisions of governance has diplomatic consequences.

This **IS** 58 billion yen ($534 million).

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Regardless of technology involved, this somewhat reminds me of the fraud that Horimon committed here in Japan back in the 2006: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Livedoor Only time will tell (if indeed there's no cover-up).

So, anyone who thinks that the Japanese people are more trustworthy than the rest of the World, should have another think... we're all Human.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

@fxgal - it was a surprise, as this is Japan, and a prior date of inspection for Coinbase, had not been issued and agreed upon, before being conducted.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Most in the Finance industry know which company will be inspected next.... these smaller players benefit the others by disrupting those expectations a bit.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

If anyone here still trusts this....hodl

if not... cash in and get the hell out while you still have some gain.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Is it time this buy buy buy now? The stuff is much cheaper now than it was...

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Nothing more than a rich mans trick https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=U1Qt6a-vaNM&client=mv-google&layout=mobile&skipcontrinter=1

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Well, I wish that I had bought into these at the beginning and cashed out so that I wouldn't need to find work...

So, what's the next big thing to make big $$$ with ?

1 ( +1 / -0 )

So, what's the next big thing to make big $$ with ?

How about something you believe will make the world a better place? That's why most people got into bitcoin (until very recently). And when you do discover that magic investment, you will learn that it is mostly ignored or derided, and your friends will think you are stupid to put money into it. Can you deal with that?

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

I guess the next logical step here is proper regulation like in the wider banking industry, although not sure how this will work

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Interesting article about Bitcoin in the Wall Street Journal. Makes one wonder if this is a correction or the beginning of the downfall of crypto currencies. I guess time will tell

https://www.wsj.com/articles/bitcoin-is-falling-fast-losing-more-than-half-its-value-in-six-weeks-1517556514

0 ( +0 / -0 )

@Eppee - show the workings please in US$ amounts (with sources - I'd love to learn...)

This was in USD, and they keep 0.3% of that. Exchanges are the real winner in this business.

https://coinmarketcap.com/exchanges/bitfinex/

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Interesting article about Bitcoin in the Wall Street Journal. 

WSJ and some other well-known media have posted some of the most erroneous stuff I have seen on bitcoin. So bad I suspect it's intentional.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Hi Fxgai, If trading with a forex brokerage, stick to the fundamental spreads that defines the meaning of an commercial intermediary, that buys and sells a particular asset or assets for a speculative commission.

Unless one can cash out from the option in a max 14 second blocktime. The risk is eye watering. Every crypto has a lag to cost ratio.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

@commanteer - fair enough. Can you point out the errors in the article for us?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Cyberspace exist between point A & point B and it’s transmissions are either microwave or ground wire - both are easily intercepts. If the users “firewalls” are weak them Security in Mott plain and simple. DOJ FCC should have shut them down until reinspection, period. These cyber-coin companies have sprung up w/o struck Security totheir users and investors. It’s always best to procrastinate on the side of caution when investing in “new” markets involving money exchanged/transfers. “BUYER BEWARE.” is more than a moto, it’s a fact of life!!!

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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