On April 6, 2026, Ripple-backed XRP surpassed Bitcoin to become the most traded asset on Upbit, South Korea’s largest crypto exchange, reflecting growing demand amid a broader market recovery. The shift highlights rising liquidity and bullish momentum for XRP in a key regional market.
Naver Financial will push back its planned share swap with Dunamu by about three months amid ongoing antitrust and crypto regulatory reviews and weakening profits at Upbit’s operator.
Internet Computer (ICP) jumped more than 20% on March 11 after South Korea’s Upbit listed the token with KRW, BTC and USDT trading pairs. The new pairs drove a sharp pickup in volume and price as local access expanded.
The Financial Services Commission has proposed new governance rules forcing Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone and Korbit to cut major owners' stakes to 15–20%, aiming to reduce concentration and conflicts of interest.
South Korean police say Binance froze only about 17% of funds tied to the Upbit hack, prompting renewed questions about how major exchanges handle cross‑border law enforcement requests. The disclosure has sparked debate over transparency and the effectiveness of emergency freeze mechanisms.
South Korean exchange Upbit will move an additional 1% of user deposits into cold storage, increasing offline holdings from 98% to 99%. The change is intended to reduce hot-wallet exposure and strengthen custody security for users.
After a $30 million breach at Upbit, South Korean regulators are moving to impose bank‑grade requirements on cryptocurrency exchanges to strengthen custody and operational controls. The shift could force smaller platforms to upgrade or exit and is expected to accelerate enforcement timelines.
Upbit said it has frozen roughly $1.77 million in assets linked to a recent hack and is investigating the theft while working to recover the funds. The move comes as the exchange continues forensic tracing of transfers tied to the incident.
Seoul will extend the same no-fault compensation rules that apply to banks to cryptocurrency exchanges after the Upbit breach, citing gaps in consumer protection exposed by the attack.
Upbit founders Song Chi-hyung and Kim Hyoung-nyon became billionaires after selling Dunamu to Naver in a $13.6 billion deal. The acquisition highlights a major corporate play into South Korea’s crypto ecosystem.