South Korea’s top crypto exchange, Upbit, has paused all deposits and withdrawals after detecting an unauthorized transfer of funds early on November 27. The event affected tokens on the Solana blockchain and resulted in an estimated $38.5 million in losses.
Upbit discovered that multiple tokens were moved out of its Solana network wallets around 4:42 a.m. KST. These included major assets such as SOL and USDC, as well as others like BONK, JUP, PYTH, ORCA, RAY, and more. The total loss was confirmed at about 540 billion Korean won, which equals $38.5 million.
Blockchain security firms, including PeckShield, reported the incident soon after the transfers began. Upbit stated that the funds were sent to an unknown external address not recognized by the platform.
“We detected irregular withdrawals and immediately took action to protect user funds,” a company spokesperson said.
Exchange Locks Funds and Moves to Cold Wallets
Following the breach, Upbit quickly moved remaining assets to cold storage. The platform confirmed that about $8.18 million worth of LAYER tokens have already been frozen. It is working with token projects and authorities to freeze more of the stolen funds.
Dunamu, the company behind Upbit, said it is running a full review of its security systems. CEO Oh Kyung-seok explained,
“Our team has identified the transaction patterns and secured the remaining assets. We’re cooperating with all relevant partners to contain the situation.”
At this time, the full method used to access the wallets has not been disclosed.
Users Will Be Reimbursed in Full
Upbit has stated that all user funds will be fully covered from its internal reserves.
“No customer will face losses from this incident,” the company noted.
This commitment was made clear in both Korean and English statements released after the transfers were flagged.
While the freeze applies to all tokens affected on the Solana network, the company plans to restart services gradually once it completes full security checks across the platform. No timeline has been given for when full operations will resume.
Upbit has not confirmed whether the breach came from internal or external sources. It continues to work with blockchain analysis firms and government bodies to monitor the stolen tokens.
Another Case in a Long Line of Crypto Breaches
The breach at Upbit is the latest in a growing list of security issues faced by crypto platforms this year. Industry data shows that over $3.1 billion has been taken from various platforms in 2025 alone.
In recent months, attackers targeted Balancer for over $128 million, Stream Finance for $93 million, and UXLINK for $44 million. These incidents involved vulnerabilities in wallets, smart contracts, and staking systems. SwissBorg also lost $41.5 million due to a compromise in a Solana staking provider.
Authorities and firms are now under pressure to increase security checks and tighten their wallet systems to reduce further risks.
The investigation into the Upbit hack is still active. No suspects have been named.
