Ripple Partner SBI Secures DMM Bitcoin Assets, Offers Spot Trading Facility

SBI VC Trade, a subsidiary of Ripple partner SBI Holdings has entered a deal with hacked crypto exchange DMM Bitcoin, to help its users recover funds. As per the announcement by SBI, DMM’s customers will have their accounts ready by March 2025 following the transfer of custody assets. Furthermore, it will also offer a spot trading facility for DMM customers.

Ripple Partner SBI to Help DMM Bitcoin Users

In a major relief to the users of hacked crypto exchange DMM Bitcoin, Ripple’s partner SBI announced a fresh deal with the company. The announcement notes that by March 8, 2025, SBI VC Trade will transfer the customer accounts and custody assets of DMM Bitcoin users to its own platform. Thus, users don’t need to open a separate account with SBI.

Following the $320 million breach of DMM’s crypto wallets, the exchange has been unsuccessful in recovering customer’s funds. Earlier this month, the exchange announced that it would liquidate and transfer the customers over to SBI.

Now, SBI VC Trade is willing to offer a helping hand to DMM Bitcoin customers. As a result, the Ripple partner will introduce 14 crypto products that are currently handled by DMM but not by SBI. However, SBI cleared that crypto-to-crypto trading pairs, such as ETH/BTC, are not part of their planner offerings.

Additionally, SBI VC Trade clarified that leveraged trading would not be part of the transfer, and unsettled leveraged trading positions would remain ineligible for migration. There are no immediate plans to introduce leveraged trading pairs available on DMM Bitcoin at this time.

North Korea Behind the Hack, Says FBI

Crypto exchange DMM reported a major hack earlier this year in May, in a security breach of servers, wherein hackers stole 4,500 Bitcoins worth $320 million back then. DMM assured its customers that it would fully compensate for the losses and restore their accounts. As a result, Ripple partner SBI is now working with DMM on this matter.

During the investigation in the following months, America’s Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) revealed that North Korean hackers linked to the crime group TraderTraitor were behind this hack. FBI investigation shows that a North Korean threat actor posed as a recruiter on LinkedIn while targeting an employee of DMM Bitcoin. This employee was responsible for maintaining the company’s wallet management system.

As part of the pre-employment test, the attacker sent a malicious link which the employee unknowingly uploaded to their GitHub page. The threat actor then exploited this vulnerability later, reported the FBI.

In a recent development, the US Treasury Department dismantled a North Korean cryptocurrency laundering scheme, by sanctioning a UAE-based exchange, used to launder millions of dollars. North Korea’s Lazarus Group is popular for conducting all the crypto-hacking activities with top crypto exchanges like Upbit also falling victim to it.