Upbit
Founded2017
Headquarters
Seoul
,
South Korea
ProductsCryptocurrency exchange
ParentDunamu Inc.
Websitewww.upbit.com

Upbit is a South Korean cryptocurrency exchange founded in 2017.[1] It is operated by Dunamu, which is one of the highest-valued startups in South Korea.[2]

History

Upbit launched in South Korea on October 24, 2017, with the help of their partnership with American cryptocurrency exchange Bittrex.[1]

Sirgoo Lee was named CEO of Dunamu, Upbit's parent company, on December 21, 2017, with Dunamu founder and CEO Chi-hyung Song assuming the role of chairman. Lee previously served as Co-CEO of Kakao Corp. and JOINS, Inc.[3]

Approximately two months after its launch, Upbit became the top global cryptocurrency exchange in terms of 24-hour trading volume.[4]

On May 10, 2018, its main office was raided as part of a fraud probe.[5]

The exchange began expanding into Southeast Asia in late 2018, first by launching in Singapore on October 30,[6] and then beginning services in Indonesia starting January 2019[citation needed], and Thailand starting January 2021.[7]

On December 21, 2018, three Upbit officials were indicted for allegedly making fake orders. The exchange has denied the allegations.[8][9][10]

In December 2018, Upbit became the first cryptocurrency exchange in the world to receive certifications from the Korea Internet and Security Agency for Information Security Management System (ISMS)[citation needed] and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) for information security (ISO 27001), cloud security (ISO 27017) and cloud privacy (ISO 27018).[11]

On November 27, 2019, Upbit lost about US$48.5 million worth of Ethereum from a hack.[12]

In September 2021, South Korea started to regulate virtual asset service providers.[13]

References

  1. ^ a b "Korea's Largest Cryptocurrency Exchange 'Upbit' Starts Providing Open Beta Services". BusinessKorea. October 25, 2017.
  2. ^ Kang, John. "NFT Craze, Cryptocurrency Boom Mint Korea's First Two Billionaires From Crypto Industry". Forbes. Retrieved 2021-11-13.
  3. ^ "Ex-Kakao CEO named to lead Upbit operator Dunamu". www.theinvestor.co.kr. Retrieved 2019-04-12.
  4. ^ "Korea's Cryptocurrency Exchange 'Upbit' Ranks First in the World in Daily Transactions". 비즈니스코리아 - BusinessKorea (in Korean). 2018-01-17. Retrieved 2019-04-12.
  5. ^ "Bitcoin Prices Slide as South Korea's Largest Crypto Exchange Gets Raided". The Wall Street Journal. May 11, 2018.
  6. ^ "Upbit launches crypto exchange in Singapore". www.theinvestor.co.kr. Retrieved 2019-04-12.
  7. ^ "Upbit upsets crypto balance of power". Bangkok Post. Retrieved 2021-07-13.
  8. ^ "Upbit indicted for issuing fake cryptocurrency orders". The Korea Times. December 21, 2018.
  9. ^ "Another cryptocurrency fraud case further dampens market sentiment". The Korean Herald. December 21, 2018.
  10. ^ "Upbit cryptoexchange may have faked trades". Korea JoongAng Daily. December 22, 2018.
  11. ^ "Upbit wins 3 ISO information security certifications". 서울경제 (in Korean). 2018-12-11. Archived from the original on 2019-04-12.
  12. ^ Osborne, Charlie (November 27, 2019). "Upbit cryptocurrency exchange loses $48.5 million to hackers". ZDNet.
  13. ^ Euihyun Bae (September 24, 2021). "South Korea Takes First Step to Regulate Virtual Asset Service Providers". The Diplomat.

External links

Cryptocurrencies
Categories