Seoul: South Korea’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, Upbit, has experienced a significant hacking incident resulting in a loss exceeding 44 billion won (US$30.1 million), as announced by the exchange operator. In a customer notice, Dunamu confirmed that 44.5 billion won worth of Solana-affiliated assets were transferred to an unauthorized wallet address early Thursday morning. The company has pledged to cover the entire loss with its own assets.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the total damage was initially estimated at 54 billion won but was later adjusted based on the asset values at the time of the attack. The breach occurred within Upbit’s ‘hot wallet’, which stores virtual assets online, while its ‘cold wallets’, which store assets offline, remained secure. In response, Dunamu has temporarily halted virtual asset deposits and withdrawals and is conducting a thorough security audit.
The company has also implemented on-chain freezing measures, successfully freezing approximately 2.3 billion won in Solayer token assets. Efforts to trace and freeze additional assets are ongoing, with collaboration from related projects and institutions. Financial authorities have begun an on-site inspection to evaluate the breach.
This incident marks the largest security breach at Upbit since an attack in 2019, in which 340,000 Ethereum tokens worth 58 billion won were illicitly transferred. Upbit stands as South Korea’s largest and the world’s fourth-largest crypto exchange by trading volume. The breach coincided with a joint press conference by Upbit, Naver Corp., and Naver Financial Corp., announcing a merger that is set to create a fintech company valued at 20 trillion won. Following the news, shares of Naver dropped 4.6 percent, closing at 251,500 won.