Binance Froze Only 17% of Upbit Hack Funds After 15-Hour Delay

Binance is facing criticism in South Korea after new reports reveal. That the exchange froze only a small portion of the funds stolen from Upbit during last month’s hack. According to KBS, police asked Binance to freeze roughly 470 million KRW worth of Solana tokens. But the exchange ultimately locked just 80 million KRW, about 17% of the total. The freeze also came 15 hours after the initial request. This raises questions about response time during major security incidents. The incident has renewed debate over how exchanges should cooperate during emergencies. Especially when stolen funds move quickly across blockchains.

Hackers Laundered Funds Through Thousands of Wallets

Authorities say the Upbit hackers moved fast. Security analysts found that the attackers fragmented the stolen tokens through a long chain of deposits and withdrawals, using over a thousand wallets. They also used blockchain bridges and swaps to change coin types and networks. This makes the trail harder to follow.

Most of these laundered funds ended up in third-party service wallets on Binance. Because of that, the police urgently asked the exchange to block the assets before they could move again. However, Binance told Upbit and investigators that it needed “additional verification.” Before freezing all the funds tied to the hack. While the exchange eventually applied a freeze. It covered only a fraction of the amount traced to its platform.

Officials Question Binance’s Slow Response

KBS reports that Binance notified Upbit of the partial freeze near midnight on the 27th, almost 15 hours after the police request. Experts say this delay likely allowed some stolen assets to slip away. Professor Cho Jae-woo of Hansung University called the response concerning. He noted that speed is critical to limiting losses after a hack. Yet exchanges often hesitate due to legal risks or uncertainty. 

He argued that the industry needs a more formal, global emergency system. That allows exchanges to freeze suspicious funds immediately during crises. Cho suggested a worldwide “hotline” or rapid-response group with pre-approved authority. This type of structure, he said, could help prevent future hacks from resulting in large, unrecoverable losses.

Stolen SOL Converted to Ethereum After Freeze

Investigators have also confirmed that most of the stolen Solana-based tokens have now been converted into Ethereum. The move signals that the hackers may be seeking easier liquidation. Since ETH is second only to Bitcoin in terms of liquidity and market depth. Binance, for its part, declined to explain why it froze only part of the stolen funds or why the freeze took so long. 

The exchange said only that it “cannot comment on ongoing investigations.” But will continue to cooperate with law enforcement. Even so, the partial freeze has sparked fresh debate about whether global exchanges are prepared to act fast enough. During major hacks and what need to change to stop criminals from outrunning the system.