South Korea's leading cryptocurrency exchange, Upbit, recently found itself at the center of a significant security incident involving unauthorized withdrawals of Solana-based assets, raising concerns about the security protocols of major trading platforms. The exchange has moved swiftly to address the breach and reassure its user base.
A Major Security Breach Unfolds
On November 27th, Upbit confirmed a substantial security breach, detailing unauthorized withdrawals totaling approximately 54 billion KRW, equivalent to $36–38 million, in various Solana-based digital assets. The incident saw funds siphoned to an unidentified external wallet, affecting not only Solana (SOL) and USDC but also a range of popular DeFi and meme tokens. Among the compromised assets were Bonk (BONK), Jupiter (JUP), Raydium (RAY), Render (RENDER), Orca (ORCA), and Pyth Network (PYTH), suggesting direct exposure of Upbit’s hot-wallet infrastructure. This event marks one of the most significant wallet compromises the platform has encountered, drawing parallels to a previous major Ethereum hack in 2019.
Upbit's Decisive Action and User Protection
Upbit's response to the breach was both immediate and robust. The exchange promptly suspended all deposits and withdrawals across the Solana network to prevent any further outflows and initiated a comprehensive security audit to investigate the root cause. Crucially, Upbit has publicly committed to fully covering the entire loss incurred by its users, utilizing its own assets to ensure no member suffers financial damage. Investigators also began tracing the stolen assets, with the exchange reporting success in freezing some assets, like a tranche of Solayer, through on-chain response efforts. This decisive action underscores Upbit's commitment to user protection and aims to restore confidence in the wake of the security scare.
