In a coordinated move, two of South Korea's leading cryptocurrency exchanges, Upbit and Bithumb, have announced a temporary suspension of deposit and withdrawal services for the ZeroG (0G) token. This action is a direct response to support an upcoming network hard fork, a critical protocol upgrade for the 0G blockchain.
Upbit's suspension is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. UTC on January 27, 2025, while Bithumb's suspension will begin earlier at 9:00 a.m. UTC on the same day. Both exchanges have emphasized that this is a standard security protocol to protect user assets during the technically complex event of a chain split. The hard fork represents a permanent divergence in the blockchain, creating a new version that nodes running old software will no longer accept.
Importantly, both exchanges have confirmed that spot trading for 0G will continue unaffected during the suspension period. This allows users to execute trades while the network upgrade occurs. The exchanges have not provided an exact timeframe for resuming deposit and withdrawal services, stating they will only reactivate them after confirming the stability and security of the new 0G network post-upgrade.
The event highlights the essential intermediary role centralized exchanges play in the decentralized ecosystem, managing risk during fundamental protocol changes. For the 0G project, having support from top-tier Korean exchanges like Upbit and Bithumb adds significant legitimacy and signals institutional confidence in its development trajectory. The hard fork is likely a milestone in 0G's technical roadmap, potentially introducing new features, consensus improvements, or scalability enhancements for its high-throughput data storage and computation focus.
Users are advised to complete any pending 0G transactions before the respective deadlines and to monitor official exchange channels for service resumption notices. Attempting to circumvent the suspension could result in permanent loss of funds.
