Share this article

Korean Crypto Exchanges Update Terms to Accept Liability for Hacks

Five South Korean crypto exchanges have been forced to update their terms and conditions to accept liability for potential hacks and service issues.

Updated Sep 13, 2021, 9:19 a.m. Published Jun 17, 2019, 8:25 a.m.
seoul

A number of South Korean cryptocurrency exchanges have been forced to update their terms and conditions to accept liability for potential hacks and service issues.

According to a report by the Yonhap News Agency, South Korea's antitrust watchdog, the Fair Trade Commission, said Monday that five exchanges in total had made the change after it issued a corrective recommendation.

STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today. See all newsletters

Bithumb, an exchange that has been hacked twice in a year, is included in the five exchanges, the report says. Last June, the platform lost roughly $31 million in cryptocurrencies, and, in May 2019, a possible insider job saw around $20 million in the company's holdings of XRP and EOS disappear.

Previously the exchanges' T&Cs had stated that they would not compensate users if not found to be willfully or grossly negligent.

After it's 2018 hack, Bithumb pledged to refund users that lost cryptos, despite its T&Cs.

In January, only a third of inspected cryptocurrency exchanges got a full pass in a government security audit.

At the time, several government agencies inspected a total of 21 crypto exchanges from September to December 2018, examining 85 different security aspects. However, only 7 – Upbit, Bithumb, Gopax, Korbit, Coinone, Hanbitco, and Huobi Korea – cleared all the tests..

South Korea image via Shutterstock

More For You

KuCoin Hits Record Market Share as 2025 Volumes Outpace Crypto Market

16:9 Image

KuCoin captured a record share of centralised exchange volume in 2025, with more than $1.25tn traded as its volumes grew faster than the wider crypto market.

What to know:

  • KuCoin recorded over $1.25 trillion in total trading volume in 2025, equivalent to an average of roughly $114 billion per month, marking its strongest year on record.
  • This performance translated into an all-time high share of centralised exchange volume, as KuCoin’s activity expanded faster than aggregate CEX volumes, which slowed during periods of lower market volatility.
  • Spot and derivatives volumes were evenly split, each exceeding $500 billion for the year, signalling broad-based usage rather than reliance on a single product line.
  • Altcoins accounted for the majority of trading activity, reinforcing KuCoin’s role as a primary liquidity venue beyond BTC and ETH at a time when majors saw more muted turnover.
  • Even as overall crypto volumes softened mid-year, KuCoin maintained elevated baseline activity, indicating structurally higher user engagement rather than short-lived volume spikes.

More For You

Bitcoin and ether volatility trading gets easier with Polymarket's new contracts

Poker chips (AidanHowe/Pixabay)

Polymarket has launched new prediction markets tied to Volmex's bitcoin and ether 30-day implied volatility indices.

What to know:

  • Polymarket has launched new prediction markets tied to Volmex's bitcoin and ether 30-day implied volatility indices, allowing users to bet on how high volatility will get in 2026.
  • The contracts pay out if volatility indices reach or exceed a preset level by Dec. 31, 2026, letting traders wager on the intensity of price swings rather than market direction.
  • Early trading implies roughly a one-in-three chance that bitcoin and ether volatility will nearly double from current levels.