Bitpoint exchange says hackers stole $32m in cryptocurrency

Japan’s Bitpoint has become the latest cryptocurrency exchange to suffer a suspected hacking attack after it reported the unauthorised withdrawal of $32m in company and customer funds.

Bitpoint discovered the loss on Thursday evening local time when it tried to make a payment using the cryptocurrency Ripple and got an error message. On investigating, Bitpoint discovered its online wallet was empty.

The loss follows a series of spectacular hacking attacks on cryptocurrency exchanges that have caused hundreds of millions of dollars in losses and brought the whole concept of digital money into disrepute.

Tokyo-based exchange Mt Gox fell into bankruptcy in 2014 after it lost 850,000 bitcoins, while in 2018 the Japanese exchange Coincheck lost around $500m to hackers. The latest incident will raise questions about whether regulators have done enough to protect cryptocurrency customers.

Bitpoint, which is owned by Remixpoint – a company listed on the second section of the Tokyo Stock…