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Upbit. (Photo = Dunamu) |
[Alpha Biz= Kim Sangjin] Cryptocurrency Exchanges to Pay Record 3 Billion KRW in Compensation for System Failures on Martial Law Day
Cryptocurrency exchanges, including Upbit and Bithumb, have agreed to compensate investors with a record amount of over 3 billion KRW for system failures that occurred on the day of the martial law declaration.
However, concerns have been raised regarding the adequacy of investor protection since compensation is being determined based on each exchange's internal policies.
Financial authorities are currently conducting on-site inspections to review the implementation of improvement plans and responses to complaints from the exchanges.
According to data provided to Rep. Kim Hyun-jung of the Democratic Party by the Financial Supervisory Service and five cryptocurrency exchanges, Upbit has agreed to pay 596 cases of compensation totaling 3,144,598,156 KRW related to system failures on martial law day. Similarly, Bithumb will compensate 124 cases with 377,533,687 KRW.
Both Upbit and Bithumb are in the final stages of negotiations with investors, and the total compensation amount may slightly increase once all agreements are finalized. Meanwhile, Coinone, Korbit, and GOPAX reported no such cases.
This represents the highest number of cases and the largest compensation amount ever for system failures in cryptocurrency exchanges.
Previously, Upbit's largest compensation case was in 2022, when it paid 1,147,876 KRW for 50 cases. Bithumb had no compensations in 2022 but compensated 29 cases with 94,950,915 KRW in 2023.
In response, the Financial Supervisory Service began another round of on-site inspections of cryptocurrency exchanges on January 20, following a review conducted last month.
The inspections aim to assess whether exchanges are adequately implementing measures such as server expansions, cloud transitions, and enhanced Business Continuity Plans (BCP) that were reported as part of their post-crisis improvement strategies.
AlphaBIZ Kim SangJin(letyou@alphabiz.co.kr)
