South Korea to permit crypto withdrawal freezes during hacking threats
South Korea’s Financial Services Commission plans to let crypto exchanges suspend deposits and withdrawals when hacking is suspected, before a breach is confirmed. The regulator will issue a no-action letter allowing preventive suspensions under specified conditions. It also urged exchanges to maintain 24/7 monitoring and incident response, increase cold-wallet holdings, and strengthen insurance and reserves. Exchanges unable to monitor continuously would handle transactions only during staffed hours and notify users in advance. The proposal follows recent security concerns, including GOPAX’s suspension of services after a hacking threat and Prabang’s report of about $70,000 in hot-wallet losses. The FSC also found cybersecurity deficiencies at 130 of 555 financial companies reviewed.
