According to South Korean broadcaster KBS, Binance has reportedly frozen only a portion of funds that police said were linked to a Nov. 27 hack on local crypto exchange Upbit, one of South Korea’s largest exchanges.
KBS reported on Friday that investigators have requested Binance freeze about 4,470 million Korean won (about $370,000) in Solana (Sol) tokens believed to be related to the incident, however, the exchange eventually blocked about $55,000 (about 17% of the requested amount) after a delay of about 15 hours.
According to the report, Binance cited the need for additional verification when responding to the police request.
As a result of the hack, UPBIT faced unauthorized withdrawals of Solana-based assets worth approximately $36 million, prompting formal police investigations and efforts by the exchange to track and freeze stolen funds across multiple platforms.
Importance of rapid initial freezing
KBS quoted Chu Ja-woo, director of the Blockchain Research Institute at Hunsong University, as saying that a quick initial freeze could be critical to limiting damage in hacking cases. However, exchanges often cite the risks of litigation as an “excuse” for being resistant to such requests. He added that the establishment of a global hotline between exchanges with the Emergency Freeze Authority could help reduce losses.
The incident draws attention to how major central exchanges react in practice when foreign law enforcement agencies request freezes on assets linked to hacking incidents.
Related: South Korea to impose bank-level liability on crypto exchanges after Apbit hack: report
A UPIT spokesperson told QuantalGraph that he could not comment on the incident reported by KBS. However, he stressed that local law enforcement is “actively investigating” to identify the attackers.
“Upbit is working closely with the authorities, and we have also asked major global exchanges to freeze any assets found in the relevant wallets.”
In a joint statement with Cointelegraph, a Binance spokesperson said they could not comment as a matter of policy, but reaffirmed their commitment to “cooperate with relevant authorities and partners wherever appropriate.”
Binance responds to all law enforcement requests exclusively through an official channel, and works closely with agencies around the world to support investigations of illegal activity, the spokesperson said.
Upbit said they will provide further updates as they become available.
Related: South Korea Targets All-Am 680 Crypto Transfers in Sweeping AML Crackdown
