The South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Gopax suspended withdrawals, deposits and trading this Friday (November 6) after receiving an email with threats of intrusion into its systems. The company began transferring client assets to internet-disconnected wallets as a preventive measure. As of the time of the announcement, there was no confirmation of an actual attack or loss of funds.
The suspension began at 14:55, Seoul time, with the interruption of deposits and withdrawals of cryptoassets. At 15:53, the platform also halted trading and canceled all buy and sell orders that had not yet been executed.
According to information released by the Yonhap Infomax agency, the threat came from a group that presented itself as responsible for a possible intrusion. A Gopax representative stated that the authenticity of the message was still being verified, but that the company decided to act immediately to avoid a possible exposure of users' funds.
The exchange announced that it intends to transfer all cryptoassets under its custody to cold wallets, offline wallets that reduce exposure to attacks carried out over the internet. The operation includes assets previously stored in hot wallets, used for online transactions.
Despite the interruption of conventional withdrawals through the website and app, clients can still request withdrawals through Gopax support. Requests will be analyzed individually and processed manually after internal verifications, which may increase the time required to release the funds.
The suspension also triggered alerts on other South Korean platforms. Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone and DigitalX advised their users to be cautious when transferring cryptocurrencies to Gopax during the period of restrictions.
The company stated that the decision is preventive and that there is no set deadline for resuming services. The normalization of operations will depend on the transfer of assets and verification of the platform's security conditions.
