APD | S. Korean exchange loses 58 bln won worth of cryptocurrency

By APD writer Alice

A cyberattack hit South Korea’s Upbit exchange on November 27, making 58 billion won (US$49.3 million) worth of cryptocurrency stolen, according to the exchange's operator, Dunamu Inc.

"At 1:06 p.m., 342,000 Ethereum worth 58 billion won, were transferred from the Upbit Ethereum Hot Wallet to an unknown wallet," the company said in a statement posted on the website of the exchange. "We took action right after detecting it."

The company said deposit and withdrawal services were immediately halted after the finding.

This may be the largest volume of cryptocurrency lost in South Korea.

Last year, Bithumb, the biggest cryptocurrency exchange in the country, lost some 35 billion won worth of coins in a hacking attack.

The loss will be compensated by Upbit's own reserves, the company said, noting that all cryptocurrencies in its hot wallets have been transferred to safer cold wallets as they are not connected to the internet.

(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)