Binance Pushes Back Against Criticism Over Its Handling of the Upbit Hack

The case quickly took a diplomatic turn. After the Upbit hack, Binance is accused in Seoul of having frozen only a small part of the stolen funds. The exchange, however, firmly disputes this version and assures it acted immediately.

Binance defends itself, says it acted without delay

Binance tightens its ties with Trump by highlighting a stablecoin. At the same time, the exchange must respond to a more sensitive controversy: its reaction after the Upbit hack. In a statement, a Binance spokesperson described these accusations as inaccurate and unfounded.

According to the company, its teams detected suspicious movements from the first hours and blocked transfers related to the hacking. Binance says it acted immediately to freeze transactions, limit movements, and cooperate with local South Korean authorities.

This response follows local articles claiming Binance froze only about 17% of the reported funds. A figure the company considers misleading. According to Seoul, hackers used more than a thousand wallets to launder quickly, making freezing and traceability difficult.

A sophisticated hack, a fast laundering

The hacking, which occurred on November 27, targeted Upbit’s Solana hot wallet. In a few hours, the attackers dispersed $30 million via chain hopping, swaps, and cross-chain bridges. These methods suggest organized groups; South Korean media cite Lazarus, already linked to crypto attacks.

Investigators say about 470 million won, nearly $370,000 in Solana tokens, were reported to have transited through Binance. According to the same sources, the authorities only froze 80 million won, about $75,000. Binance, for its part, disputes this interpretation and refers to a classic point in these cases: certain requests require additional checks before extending a freeze on a larger scale.

Upbit tightens security after the attack

In the wake of this, Upbit announced it would move 99% of client funds to cold storage, well above South Korean regulatory requirements that mandate a minimum of 80%. The platform, already known to be cautious, stored 98.33% of its assets offline before the incident but is now accelerating this shift to reduce hot wallet exposure to nearly zero.

Operator Dunamu presents this change as one of the strictest responses seen at a major exchange. But the investigation continues and the dividing line remains: after the Upbit hack, Binance insists it reacted immediately, while South Korean authorities believe only part of the funds was frozen in time. In this climate of distrust, another signal feeds tensions: Bitcoin reserves on Binance have also just dropped to their lowest level in five years.