TechFlow news — On December 12, according to South Korean media KBS, Binance received a request from South Korean police to freeze assets stolen from Upbit, but only partially complied. After Upbit was hacked on the morning of November 27, the stolen funds were laundered through complex processes to evade tracking. The hackers used over a thousand wallets to split the funds and employed cross-chain bridges and token swaps to convert token types and transfer across blockchain networks. Most of the laundered funds eventually flowed into third-party service wallets on Binance.
On the day of the incident, South Korean police and Upbit requested Binance to freeze Solana tokens worth 470 million KRW, but Binance, citing the need for further verification, froze only 17% of the requested amount (approximately 80 million KRW). The freezing action was completed about 15 hours after the request. Reports indicate that Binance declined to provide specific comments on the reasons for partial freezing or the delay, stating only that it would continue cooperating with relevant authorities through proper procedures.
In response, Binance stated: Claims regarding "delayed response" or "inadequate action" by Binance are untrue. Binance's security and investigation team detected the incident promptly and immediately took measures to assist in freezing related transactions and halt further fund movements.
We have maintained close cooperation with local law enforcement and relevant partners, continuously monitoring developments and providing support as needed. Any claims that Binance "failed to take timely and effective action" are factually inaccurate. Binance will continue to cooperate with relevant institutions and partners under appropriate circumstances.
