Upbit Halts Services After $38M Solana Hack

South Korea’s largest crypto exchange, Upbit, has been forced to suspend its deposit and withdrawal services after a massive unauthorized transfer on the Solana network. 

The incident, involving roughly 54 billion won, equivalent to about $38 million, has raised alarms across the global crypto sector. This incident has renewed attention on the growing list of major exploits hitting the crypto market this year.

Upbit Responds Swiftly Following Unauthorized Token Transfer 

On November 27, Upbit said it discovered that a large amount of Solana-related tokens had been transferred from its wallets without permission. These tokens included Solana itself, Double Zero, Official Trump, Bonk, Jupiter, and dozens of others.

In response, Upbit temporarily halted all deposits and withdrawals to protect users and stop further asset movement. Upbit stated that it quickly identified how much digital assets had left its wallets. 

The exchange has committed to covering the entire loss using its own funds. This means customers will not suffer financial damage from the breach.

The timing of the Upbit hack has drawn attention because it comes during a major transition for its parent company, Dunamu. The company is currently in the process of being acquired by Naver Financial. 

Upbit Boosts Security Measures After Solana-Linked Breach

To prevent additional outflows, Upbit moved all affected assets, on Solana and other blockchains, into secure cold wallets. The team also worked with blockchain security experts to freeze part of the stolen funds and trace the attacker’s activity on-chain.

The exchange is now reviewing its entire deposit and withdrawal system, with a special focus on Solana’s infrastructure. Upbit says deposits and withdrawals will return only after a full security audit is completed.

Despite the quick response, the market reacted. Tokens tied to the Solana ecosystem, such as Render, Jupiter, Bonk, and Pengu, also dropped more than 1% in the hours after the incident. 

However, SOL’s market price continues to hold steady. At the time of writing, Solana’s price is trading at $141.18, up by almost 4% in the last 24 hours, according to CoinMarketCap data. 

Upbit Hack Adds Pressure as Regulatory Scrutiny Intensifies in South Korea

The Upbit breach follows another major incident earlier this month involving Balancer. The decentralized finance (DeFi) platform suffered a $129 million loss during the hack. These repeated attacks have increased concerns about weaknesses in certain networks and crypto infrastructures.

Furthermore, South Korea’s regulators have been tightening oversight. Upbit recently received a $25 fine from the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) for issues related to anti-money laundering (AML) and identity verification. 

The exchange was also ordered to pause onboarding of new customers for three months. Regulatory pressure is expected to grow more. Authorities are reportedly preparing additional sanctions, fines, and temporary suspension orders for several domestic crypto exchanges. This environment suggests tougher conditions ahead for South Korea’s digital asset market.