As reported by South Korean broadcaster KBS, Binance has only frozen a fraction of the funds linked to a hack on Nov. 27 that affected Upbit, one of the largest crypto exchanges in South Korea.
KBS reported on Friday that investigators had requested Binance to freeze approximately 470 million Korean won ($370,000) in Solana (SOL) tokens thought to be connected to the incident. The exchange ultimately blocked about $55,000 (around 17% of the requested sum) after a delay of 15 hours.
The report stated that Binance required additional verification in response to the police request.
Following the hack, Upbit experienced unauthorized withdrawals of Solana-based assets worth about $36 million, leading to a formal police investigation and actions by the exchange to trace and freeze stolen funds across various platforms.
The significance of prompt initial freezes
KBS quoted Cho Jae-woo, director of Hansung University’s Blockchain Research Institute, noting that prompt initial freezes are crucial for minimizing damage in hacking scenarios. However, exchanges frequently cite litigation risks as a reason for hesitance towards such requests. He suggested that creating a global hotline among exchanges with emergency freeze authority could help reduce damage.
This incident highlights the responses of major centralized exchanges when foreign law enforcement agencies request asset freezes related to hacking incidents.
Related: South Korea to impose bank-level liability on crypto exchanges after Upbit hack: Report
An Upbit spokesperson informed Cointelegraph that they were unable to comment on the incident reported by KBS; however, they emphasized that local law enforcement is “actively investigating” to identify the perpetrators.
“Upbit is collaborating closely with the authorities, and we have also requested major global exchanges to freeze any assets identified from the related wallets.”
In a statement provided to Cointelegraph, a Binance spokesperson mentioned they could not comment as a matter of policy but affirmed their commitment to “cooperate with relevant authorities and partners whenever appropriate.”
Upbit indicated that they would give further updates as they become available.
Related: South Korea targets sub-$680 crypto transfers in sweeping AML crackdown
