The incident occurred the day after South Korean technology giant Naver announced plans to acquire Dunamu Inc, Upbit’s parent, via a US$10.3 billion all-stock deal. On Thursday, executives touted the transformative nature of the transaction in the morning even as unknown parties infiltrated Upbit’s system. Dunamu representatives didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
That press event took place hours before Upbit disclosed the exploit. Naver executives outlined plans to spend 10 trillion won on AI and blockchain technology over the next five years, angling to become a global player in two key arenas.
Naver intends to integrate its financial and AI infrastructure with consumer services, chief executive officer Choi Soo-yeon told reporters. The company has previously talked about plans to buy tens of thousands of Nvidia Corp chips to build and develop AI.
By acquiring Dunamu, Naver is placing an unusually big bet on the crypto and fintech industry — especially for a company better known for online shopping, anime and its dominant search app. A representative for Naver declined to comment on the Upbit infiltration.
See also: The coming crypto apocalypse
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