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Photo courtesy of Upbit |
[Alpha Biz= Kim Jisun] South Korea’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, Upbit, reported a major hacking incident on November 27 in which approximately KRW 44.5 billion (USD 33 million) worth of digital assets were transferred to an unknown external wallet. The exchange came under scrutiny after disclosing the breach 7 hours and 51 minutes after detection, prompting speculation that the timing was influenced by the merger announcement involving its parent company Dunamu and Naver Financial.
According to Dunamu, Upbit detected unauthorized transfers at 4:42 a.m. on Wednesday. The stolen assets were linked to the Solana network, including Solana (SOL), Double Zero (2Z), Access Protocol (ACS) and 24 different tokens.
Immediately after identifying the breach, Upbit notified the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) and the Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA). At 5:27 a.m., the exchange suspended deposits and withdrawals for Solana-based assets, and by 8:55 a.m., halted all digital asset transactions—without providing a reason at the time. Upbit publicly confirmed the incident only at 12:33 p.m., nearly eight hours after detection, and after Dunamu and Naver Financial had completed a joint press conference regarding their merger.
This delay has sparked criticism that Upbit prioritized its corporate event over investor protection. Even Naver, a key counterparty in the stock-swap transaction, was reportedly not informed of the breach during the merger event.
Upbit initially stated that the loss amounted to KRW 54 billion, but later revised the figure to KRW 44.5 billion, adding further confusion among users. The exchange has not yet provided details on the cause of the breach, the number of affected customers, or the security status of non-Solana assets.
Upbit stated that all customer losses will be fully covered using company funds and that the exchange is tracing the destination wallet, encouraging users to submit relevant information.
This incident comes exactly six years after Upbit suffered another major breach on November 27, 2019, when hackers stole 342,000 ETH—valued at KRW 580 billion at the time, and over KRW 1.5 trillion at current prices. In that event as well, Upbit delayed public disclosure by several hours.
Alphabiz Reporter Kim Jisun(stockmk2020@alphabiz.co.kr)
