GOPAX suspends trading and routine withdrawals after hacking threat

Deposits and standard withdrawals stopped at 2:55 p.m. local time on November 6, according to GOPAX notices. Trading was suspended at 3:53 p.m., and the exchange canceled all outstanding orders. Customers can still request withdrawals through the support center, but each request must pass manual verification and approval, which may delay processing. GOPAX has not said when regular services will resume.

A company representative told South Korean newspaper Kyunghyang Shinmun that the exchange received the threatening email but had not detected hacking activity. GOPAX described the shutdown as a preventive step while it reviews potential security risks. It did not respond to a request for comment from crypto.news by press time.

The exchange is transferring cryptocurrency from internet-connected hot wallets to cold wallets, which keep signing keys offline. South Korea’s Virtual Asset User Protection Act requires exchanges to store at least 80% of the economic value of customer crypto assets in cold storage. Financial Supervisory Service data showed GOPAX held 80.54% offline at the end of September. Upbit’s figure was 99.17%, Bithumb’s 94.76% and Coinone’s 85%.

The Financial Services Commission recently urged domestic exchanges to strengthen security after an emergency meeting on November 2, held following the $6.3 billion Binance security incident. South Korean authorities are considering raising the cold-storage minimum to as much as 99%, but have not announced a final decision. GOPAX also reported an October information leak affecting seven customers and two current or former employees; authorities have not established whether it is connected to the latest threat.