South Korean cryptocurrency users say they are in a “state of confusion” after reports of a possible USD 79 million hack on market-leading crypto exchange platform Upbit.
Per Chosun, a series of large altcoin transfers were made out of Upbit accounts at just after 1pm KST (4:00 UTC ) on November 27, including some USD 50 million worth of , and smaller amounts of , and .
Crypto tracking Twitter account Whale Alert has also reported a series of huge transfers from Upbit accounts to unknown accounts, including this large ETH transfer.
# # # # 342,000 #ETH (49,848,273 USD) transferred from #Upbit to unknown wallet
— Whale Alert (@whale_alert)
Janet Chun, a Seoul-based Upbit customer, told Cryptonews.com,
“I can’t make transactions on my account, and I’m reading news of a hack online now. I’m afraid that perhaps I’ve lost funds, along with hundreds of others. The company has barely said anything, and I find that particularly worrying.”
Minutes after the transactions were made, Upbit posted an announcement on its website stating that cryptocurrency transactions and trading has been suspended while the exchange performs “server checks,” although customers may still make fiat withdrawals and deposits.”
The company said that it would inform customers when service has been resumed and added, “We apologize for the inconvenience.”
Per Fn News, Upbit has stated that it is “looking into” the matter. Cryptonews.com has reached out to Upbit for comment on this story.
Upbit is the only major South Korean exchange that has never experienced a hack, and its major investors involve chat app giant Kakao.
Upbit offers over 200 trading pairs and is ranked 50th in the world in trading volume. The platform processed USD 94 million in the past 24 hours, according to data from Coinpaprika.
Trading volume on Upbit
