Coincheck falsely explained security to customers - industry group head

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese Coincheck made false explanations to customers about its security system before suffering one of the world’s biggest cyber heists, the head of a major cryptocurrency industry group said on Wednesday.

If similar problems had occurred in securities or currency margin trading the authorities would have halted the exchange’s operation, Taizen Okuyama, head of the Japan Cryptocurrency Business Association, added at an industry event.

Officials at Coincheck were not immediately available for comment.

Japanese authorities said on Monday they would investigate all cryptocurrency exchanges in the country for security gaps and ordered Coincheck to raise its standards after hackers stole $530 million of digital money from the Tokyo-based exchange.