- Trending
- Comments
- Latest
South Korean exchange Upbit suspended all deposits and withdrawals Thursday after hackers drained approximately $36 million in SOL tokens from its hot wallet, the company confirmed.
Upbit CEO Kyung-seok Choi apologized to customers and said the exchange entered “emergency inspection mode” following the suspicious transfers detected early Thursday morning. All assets in cold storage remain secure, the company said.
In its urgent statement, Upbit emphasized that protecting user funds was the top priority. Kyung-seok Choi, CEO of Dunamu — the operator behind Upbit — issued a rare direct apology to customers, underscoring the severity of the breach.
“We deeply apologize for any inconvenience caused due to the urgent digital asset deposit and withdrawal inspection and today’s abnormal withdrawal situation,” Choi said. “Upbit immediately suspended deposit and withdrawal services and conducted a comprehensive inspection, prioritizing the protection of member assets.”
Blockchain data suggests the attacker siphoned more than $36 million in SOL, though analysts note the figure may fluctuate as investigations verify transaction patterns.
The Upbit solana wallet breach has already sparked intense industry scrutiny, especially with Solana recently surpassing Ethereum in certain activity metrics.
Experts Warn the Upbit Solana Wallet Breach Exposes Critical Infrastructure Vulnerabilities.
While speculation spread rapidly, early intelligence from cybersecurity experts indicates the Upbit solana wallet breachlikely originated from a compromise of Upbit’s internal wallet infrastructure, not a vulnerability in the Solana blockchain itself.
Andrew Miller, a leading blockchain security researcher at the University of Illinois, explained:
“There is no evidence at this stage suggesting a Solana protocol flaw. Hot wallet infrastructure remains the most common target for coordinated exchange attacks,” Miller told reporters.
This assessment mirrors trends seen in previous high-profile cases such as the KuCoin and CoinEx breaches — both originating from key-management or operational exposures rather than underlying blockchain defects.
The Upbit solana wallet breach sent shockwaves through the market, pushing SOL’s trading volume into extreme volatility within hours.
Although Solana’s core ecosystem has not shown signs of structural compromise, traders responded cautiously, with several Korean retail communities issuing warnings to avoid large transactions until Upbit completes its internal audit.
Crypto economist and industry commentator Joseph Young noted:
“Upbit controls a large share of South Korea’s crypto liquidity. Any incident involving their infrastructure has immediate ripple effects across the region,” Young said.
He added that Upbit has historically taken swift action during security events, which may help contain long-term damage.
South Korea’s Financial Services Commission (FSC) is reportedly monitoring the situation closely.
Although formal regulatory statements have not yet been issued, local analysts say the Upbit solana wallet breach could accelerate ongoing policy initiatives around hot-wallet security requirements and disaster-recovery procedures for major exchanges.
Upbit said all assets held in cold storage remain safe. The company has also begun migrating certain digital asset operations to “enhanced isolated wallet structures” to prevent further compromise.
As of publication, Upbit has not disclosed a full recovery timeline. However, the exchange said it will restore deposits and withdrawals gradually once system integrity is fully validated.
Security firms assisting the investigation warn that post-breach analysis may take days — or even weeks — depending on the sophistication of the attack. Still, early market sentiment suggests that transparent communication could help stabilize user confidence.
The Upbit solana wallet breach now stands as a defining reminder of the rising threats facing centralized exchanges, even those known for strong compliance and high trading volume.
