TL;DR
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South Korean crypto exchange Upbit has suspended deposits and withdrawals.
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This measure comes after $37m worth of tokens were transferred to unauthorized wallets.
Upbit Suspends Deposits and Withdrawals
South Korea's leading cryptocurrency exchange, Upbit, announced on Thursday that it has suspended the deposit and withdrawal of digital assets on its platform. This latest development comes after the exchange detected an irregular withdrawal activity involving certain Solana network tokens.
Dunamu's CEO, the operator of Upbit, Oh Kyung-seok, apologized for the inconvenience to users, adding that the abnormal withdrawal behavior was detected early Thursday.
Upbit confirmed that the affected tokens include DoubleZero (2Z), ACS, BONK, DOOD, Drift (DRIFT), HUMA, Ionet (IO), JTO, JUP, LAYER, ME, and others associated with the Solana network.
The CEO added that roughly 54 billion won ($37 million) worth of tokens were transferred to unauthorized wallets. However, the crypto exchange assured users that it would cover all losses to protect user assets fully.
Upbit stated that it has taken some immediate actions, including transferring all assets to cold wallets to prevent further unauthorized transactions and initiating on-chain freezing measures in cooperation with law enforcement. The exchange has successfully frozen assets worth about 12 billion won related to the Solayer token, and conducted a thorough security audit of all digital asset transfer systems.
The cryptocurrency exchange assured its users that it would gradually resume withdrawal services once security is confirmed and urged users to report any suspicious activity to customer support.
This latest development comes nine months after South Korea's Financial Intelligence Unit slapped a three-month sanction on Upbit, halting new customer deposits and withdrawals, as the exchange grapples with regulatory challenges.
