TOKYO: Cryptocurrency traders filed a lawsuit Thursday against Japanese exchange firm Coincheck, seeking repayment after hackers raided hundreds of millions of dollars in digital assets.
Seven plaintiffs — two companies and five individuals — took part in an initial lawsuit filed at the Tokyo District Court.
They are seeking the reimbursement of 19.53 million yen ($167,000) in virtual currencies and further compensation for interest lost due to the hack, plaintiffs’ lawyer Hiromu Mochizuki said after the filing.
And Mochizuki warned his firm had received enquiries from “some 1,000 people” also considering a class-action legal suit over the hack, which was one of the largest of its kind.
Investors in this second class-action lawsuit planned later this month would likely seek compensation for the drop in their assets’ value while Coincheck halted withdrawals in the wake of the hack.
The hack of Coincheck — resulting in the disappearance of NEM cryptocurrency worth $530 million — prompted authorities to search the firm’s office earlier this month, after slapping it with an administrative order.
The company has already pledged to reimburse about $400 million to all 260,000 customers who lost their holdings of NEM, the 10th biggest cryptocurrency by market capitalization.
Coincheck halted operations after the hack and prevented traders from withdrawing their virtual currency from the exchange — a decision that left those assets in limbo while the cryptocurrency markets continued to move.
On Tuesday, Coincheck said it had resumed operations for withdrawals denominated in Japanese yen but has still frozen withdrawals of a dozen different kinds of cryptocurrencies.
One plaintiff in his 20s told reporters he had invested 400,000 yen ($3,730), adding he wanted it back “as soon as possible.”
“I was surprised and worried at the incident,” he said on condition of anonymity.
A class-action suit is the best way to proceed in this case, as it is similar to when a large number of people seek damages over faulty consumer goods, said lead lawyer Kanehito Kita.
It is difficult and expensive for small-scale individual investors to file lawsuits in Japan.
Japanese officials have suggested Coincheck lacked proper security measures, leaving itself vulnerable to theft.
In the wake of the incident, the country’s Financial Services Agency instructed more than a dozen local exchanges to submit reports on their efforts to monitor systemic risks.
Thieves syphoned away 523 million units of the cryptocurrency NEM from Coincheck during the Jan. 26 hack, exceeding the $480 million in virtual currency stolen in 2014 from another Japanese exchange, MtGox.
That hack prompted Japan to issue new regulations requiring exchanges to obtain a license from the FSA, but Coincheck was allowed to continue operating while the agency was reviewing its application.
Japan’s crypto exchange Coincheck sued after hack
Japan’s crypto exchange Coincheck sued after hack
Saudi Arabia’s industrial production jumps 10.4% in January: GASTAT
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s industrial production index rose to 115 in January, up 10.4 percent from a year earlier, driven by higher crude output and stronger mining activity, official data showed.
The latest report released by the General Authority for Statistics showed that the annual surge was primarily fueled by a 13.3 percent jump in the mining and quarrying sub-index, which includes oil production.
Saudi Arabia raised crude oil output to 10.1 million barrels per day in January from 8.9 million barrels per day a year earlier, supporting growth in the mining and quarrying sub-index and contributing to the broader expansion in industrial activity.
The latest IPI figures underscore continued momentum in the Kingdom’s industrial sector as Saudi Arabia pursues economic diversification under its Vision 2030 agenda.
The manufacturing sector, a key pillar of the Kingdom’s economic diversification efforts, also contributed positively to the annual growth. The manufacturing sub-index rose by 6.8 percent compared to January of the previous year.
This was underpinned by strong performances in the manufacture of chemicals and chemical products, which grew by 10.6 percent, and the manufacture of coke and refined petroleum products, which increased by 9.1 percent. The food products industry also saw an annual growth of 9.1 percent.
The water supply, sewerage, and waste management activities recorded the highest annual growth among the major sectors, increasing by 11.7 percent.
Despite the strong year-on-year performance, the IPI showed a slight contraction on a monthly basis, decreasing by 0.5 percent compared to December 2025. This decline was driven by a 1.4 percent drop in the manufacturing sub-index from the previous month.
The monthly downturn in manufacturing was largely attributed to decreases in the same sectors that fueled its annual growth, with coke and petroleum products down 1.1 percent and chemicals down 1.2 percent.
A breakdown by main economic activities shows that the index for oil activities jumped 12.5 percent annually, while non-oil activities also posted a healthy gain of 5.3 percent.
On a monthly basis, both indices saw minor declines, with oil activities dipping 0.1 percent and non-oil activities falling by 1.5 percent.
The electricity, gas, and air conditioning supply sub-index was the only major sector to record an annual decrease, falling by 1.3 percent compared to January 2025.
