Zaif delays compensation for lost assets

Tech Bureau, operator of Japanese crypto exchange Zaif, has not yet disclosed its compensation strategy for customers affected by the hack, which occurred three weeks ago. The major theft netted the hackers a profit of $60 million.

The Osaka-based operator has already stopped registering new users in order to fully focus its efforts on refunding clients who collectively lost $40 million in personal assets after the hacking of the Zaif crypto exchange.

At first, the operator promised that it would publish the structure and schedule of repayment of debts to clients in September, but representatives of the exchange recently told the Nikkei Asian Review that they needed more time to determine a compensation plan.

Recall that hackers stole more than $60 million in cryptocurrency in just two hours. This happened on September 14th. But the platform operator, Tech Bureau, did not learn about the hack until September 17, and only on September 20 did it officially report the theft to the Japanese regulator Financial Services Agency (FSA).

In an attempt to reassure clients who suffered losses, Tech Bureau representatives said that the company had entered into a basic agreement with public Japanese corporation Fisco Digital Asset Group, which provided Zaif with $44 million in exchange for a controlling stake in the site. These funds, the exchange said, will be directly used to compensate clients for their losses.

However, negotiations on the terms of the majority stake deal continue to this day.

The Zaif hack is the second-largest crypto theft in Japan this year. In first place is the theft of 260,000 NEM coins worth about $523 million from the Coincheck exchange in January.  Three months later, this site was acquired by a large Japanese online broker Monex.

The Tech Bureau company is now actively being audited by Japanese regulators RSA and FSA. Several large administrative fines have already been imposed for the use of hot wallets to store customer funds.  

According to ccn.com