South Korea’s biggest crypto exchange woke up to trouble early Thursday after a 4:42 a.m. breach pushed millions in Solana-based tokens out to an unknown wallet.
But instead of panic, Upbit moved fast – freezing its systems, shutting down deposits and withdrawals, and telling customers one thing that instantly mattered most: Upbit will cover the full 54 billion won loss.
Upbit detected “abnormal withdrawal activity” involving 24 Solana-ecosystem tokens, including SOL, USDC, BONK, RENDER, ORCA, JUP, PYTH, IO and others. All were transferred to a wallet the exchange did not recognize.
CEO Oh Kyung-seok addressed users directly, saying Upbit is “prioritizing the protection of member assets” and repeating that the entire amount “will be covered by Upbit’s holdings.”
The exchange wanted users to know their balances weren’t on the line.
By 8:55 a.m., Upbit halted all deposits and withdrawals. The exchange then shifted assets into cold storage and launched a full review of its infrastructure.
On-chain, the team moved just as quickly. Upbit said it managed to freeze roughly 12 billion won worth of Solaire (LAYER) and is still tracking the remaining stolen tokens. It also confirmed it’s working with relevant projects and will cooperate with investigative authorities.
The timing adds a strange twist: this hack landed almost exactly six years after Upbit’s major 2019 breach, when 342,000 ETH vanished in an attack later linked to North Korea. That older case still hangs over the exchange, especially now that the stolen ETH is worth over $1 billion.
This new incident doesn’t appear connected, but the coincidence won’t go unnoticed.
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The breach also comes as Naver is reportedly preparing a multibillion-dollar stock-swap acquisition of Dunamu , Upbit’s parent company, which is a deal that could eventually set the stage for a Nasdaq listing.
A security scare at a moment like this raises the pressure, but Upbit’s decision to absorb the entire loss may help steady confidence.
For now, you can be reassured: no user funds were touched.
Upbit says services will reopen gradually once its security checks are complete. The on-chain chase continues, but the exchange is betting that quick action, transparency, and taking the full financial hit will keep trust intact.
