Upbit Delists BONK Over $20M Hack; Bithumb Splits

3 hours ago

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Why did Upbit delist Bonk while Bithumb continued to support its trading?

How did the $20 million hack affect Bonk’s price and trading volume?

How did the Bonk hack and delisting incident affect Korean meme coin investment sentiment?

Upbit Delists BONK Over $20M Hack; Bithumb Splits — Image source: Unblock Media

Upbit removes BONK after unresolved $20M BonkDAO exploit
Bithumb reopens BONK trading, citing resolved risk

On September 6, 2026 (UTC), Cryptopolitan reported that Upbit will delist BONK following an unresolved $20 million BonkDAO hack, effective September 7. Upbit, South Korea’s largest crypto exchange, cited ongoing security risks from the exploit at the Solana-based meme coin’s community treasury as its reason for removal.

Timeline: In July, BonkDAO suffered the exploit, prompting industry warnings. By mid-August, exchanges began diverging—Upbit maintained a trading halt, while Bithumb assessed remediation efforts. On September 6, Upbit announced the delisting, while Bithumb cleared BONK for renewed trading, stating the security risks had been addressed.

Upbit’s action immediately affected BONK’s market access, withdrawing it from one of Asia’s largest retail crypto markets amid surging trading volumes. CoinMarketCap data showed BONK trading near $0.00000345, up 6% in 24 hours, with daily volume at $134 million, as users repositioned ahead of Upbit’s deadline. Despite the surge, BONK was still down 95% from its late-2024 peak, underscoring market impact from the BonkDAO incident.

South Korea’s influence on Asian crypto liquidity made Upbit’s delisting especially impactful. Yet, BONK continues to trade on global platforms like Binance and Coinbase, moderating broader fallout. The contrasting positions of Upbit and Bithumb highlight ongoing debate over security standards and investor protection in the wake of governance hacks.

The situation renewed scrutiny on technical safeguards and transparency among meme coin issuers and exchanges, particularly in regulatory-sensitive markets like South Korea. Stakeholders face mounting pressure to tighten protocols and swiftly remediate vulnerabilities after security breaches.

As of September 6, 2026, 23:08 UTC, BONK is trading at $0.00000345 with a 4.65% change in 24-hour trading volume, according to CoinMarketCap.