Upbit is a South Korean cryptocurrency exchange founded in 2017.[1] It is operated by Dunamu, which is one of the highest-valued startups in South Korea.[2]
 | |
| Founded | 2017 |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | , |
| Products | Cryptocurrency exchange |
| Parent | Dunamu Inc. |
| Website | www |
History
Upbit launched in South Korea on October 24, 2017, with the help of their partnership with American cryptocurrency exchange Bittrex.[1]
Sirgoo Lee was named CEO of Dunamu, Upbit's parent company, on December 21, 2017, with Dunamu founder and CEO Chi-hyung Song assuming the role of chairman. Lee previously served as Co-CEO of Kakao Corp. and JOINS, Inc.[3]
Approximately two months after its launch, Upbit became the top global cryptocurrency exchange in terms of 24-hour trading volume.[4]
On May 10, 2018, its main office was raided as part of a fraud probe.[5]
The exchange began expanding into Southeast Asia in late 2018, first by launching in Singapore on October 30,[6] and then beginning services in Indonesia starting January 2019[citation needed], and Thailand starting January 2021.[7]
On December 21, 2018, three Upbit officials were indicted for allegedly making fake orders. The exchange has denied the allegations.[8][9][10]
In December 2018, Upbit became the first cryptocurrency exchange in the world to receive certifications from the Korea Internet and Security Agency for Information Security Management System (ISMS)[citation needed] and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) for information security (ISO 27001), cloud security (ISO 27017) and cloud privacy (ISO 27018).[11]
On November 27, 2019, Upbit lost about US$48.5 million worth of Ethereum from a hack.[12]
In September 2021, South Korea started to regulate virtual asset service providers.[13]