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Upbit's Polkadot Freeze Tests Seoul's Place in Asia Crypto Plumbing HONG KONG — A scheduled wallet upgrade at Upbit, the South Korean exchange that routinely sits among the world's five busiest by spot turnover, will pause Polkadot (DOT) deposits and withdrawals for a window the operator has yet to specify in firm hours.
On paper it is a maintenance notice. Read across the region's order books, it is a reminder of how much of the Asia-Pacific crypto pipe still runs through a single Korean venue.
Upbit's notice keeps DOT spot trading open against won and other pairs, which means price discovery for the proof-of-stake asset will continue inside the so-called Kimchi corridor — the spread that has, on and off through this cycle, run several percentage points above Tokyo and Hong Kong reference prices.
With on-chain movement frozen, that spread loses its usual arbitrage release valve.
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