Monex confirms interest in cryptocurrency exchange hit by hacking attack

Japanese financial services business Monex Group confirmed today that it was interested in making a bid for cryptocurrency exchange Coincheck, the victim of a $530m (£377m) hacking heist earlier this year.

Monex Group confirmed in a statement that it was interested in acquiring Coincheck following local press coverage linking it to a potential bid.

“It is true that we have been considering the acquisition of the cryptocurrency firm mentioned in the report today but have not made any decision yet,” the statement said.

Monex said that it has been looking at blockchain technology with interest lately and in January it set up the Monex Cryptocurrency Lab to study the future development of crypto currencies and provide information to investors.

Coincheck, a cryptocurrency exchange based in Japan, was targeted in a hacking attack in January that resulted in the loss of $534m worth of currency.

The exchange said that it would reimburse the more than quarter of a million users affected out of its own funds.

Cryptocurrency Bitcoin is currently trading at around $7,340 according to price index Coindesk.

This follows a prolonged slump since its value hit heights of more than $20,000 in December 2017.

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