Upbit, a leading global cryptocurrency exchange, has announced a temporary suspension of deposit and withdrawal services for the Near Protocol, citing an upcoming network upgrade. The suspension is set to begin on August 26 at 3 am UTC and will remain in place until the stability of the upgrade is confirmed.
According to an official statement from Upbit, the precautionary measure is aimed at ensuring the security of users' assets during the upgrade process. "NEAR trading on the platform will remain unaffected and proceed without interruptions," the exchange reassured its users.
Upbit will closely monitor the progress of the network upgrade and provide updates regarding the timeline for the resumption of services.
In a broader context, as of June 16, Upbit and several other cryptocurrency exchanges have been under the scrutiny of South Korea’s Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) following their registration under the Virtual Asset User Protection Act (VAUPA). The FSS implemented a "continuous monitoring system" on July 19 to oversee suspicious crypto transactions on these exchanges. The system enables the filtering of "abnormal transactions," as noted in a July 4 notice from the FSS.
In related news, it was reported on August 19 by local media outlet News1 that employees and executives at Dunamu, the company operating Upbit, have received higher salaries than their counterparts at major South Korean banks, such as Shinhan Bank and KB Kookmin Bank. In the first half of 2024, Dunamu staff earned nearly 18 million South Korean won (approximately $13,000) more on average than bank employees.
