Originally published on November 6, 2026, at 18:47:33 UTC+8.
South Korean cryptocurrency exchange GOPAX suspended trading, deposits and standard withdrawals on November 6 after receiving an email threatening a hack, according to local newspaper Kyunghyang Shinmun. A GOPAX representative told the newspaper that no hack or attempted theft had occurred at that point.
The exchange said it planned to transfer all crypto assets to offline wallets to protect users, citing financial regulators’ recommendations and a series of leaks and hacking incidents affecting financial institutions.
Trading halted; support-assisted withdrawals remain available
GOPAX halted deposits and standard withdrawals at 5:55 a.m. UTC. A second announcement said trading stopped at 6:53 a.m. UTC, with all unfilled orders canceled.
Customers could still request withdrawals through the exchange’s support center, although GOPAX warned that manual verification and approvals could delay processing.
Cointelegraph said it had contacted GOPAX but had not received a response by publication time.
Cold-storage requirements and cybersecurity oversight
The suspension followed a call days earlier from South Korea’s Financial Services Commission (FSC) for domestic exchanges to increase cold-wallet holdings after the reported $6.3 billion Binance hack.
South Korean exchanges are required to keep at least 80% of customer crypto assets in cold storage. Financial Supervisory Service data previously showed that GOPAX held 80.54% of user assets offline at the end of September, close to that minimum.
In October, the FSC reported cybersecurity deficiencies at 130 of the 555 financial companies reviewed nationwide. It also identified GOPAX operator Streami and crypto exchange Prabang among 16 companies involved in earlier security incidents, prompting plans for tighter cybersecurity oversight.
Prabang separately suspended services after detecting abnormal withdrawals from its hot wallet on October 24. According to Yonhap News Agency, the exchange reported losses of about 100 million won ($70,000). Prabang said it would reimburse affected customers using company funds.