Leading South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb has announced a temporary suspension of deposit and withdrawal services for the Injective (INJ) token. The suspension is scheduled to begin at 9:00 a.m. UTC on February 19, 2025, to facilitate a critical network upgrade for the Injective Protocol. The exchange stated this proactive measure is essential to ensure user asset security during the blockchain's technical transition.
The suspension directly supports the implementation of the newly approved Injective Improvement Proposal 619 (IIP-619). The proposal passed via on-chain governance, authorizing a major mainnet upgrade scheduled for February 19 at 15:00 UTC. The upgrade aims to significantly scale Injective's real-time Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) architecture and enhance its capabilities to support next-generation payments. The process involves a planned chain halt at block 154,983,000, followed by a restart using Injective Chain v1.18.0.
Bithumb's action is described by market analysts as a standard operational procedure for major exchanges during core protocol updates, aligning with global best practices seen on platforms like Binance and Coinbase. The exchange has not specified a precise end time for the suspension, but services typically resume within several hours after the upgrade's successful completion and stability checks.
Following the governance vote approval, the INJ price rallied over 13%, with traders positioning for the upgrade. The token's value is intrinsically linked to the network, as INJ is used for fees, staking, and governance. The upgrade is also expected to improve performance across Injective's MultiVM design and optimize integrations with oracles like Chainlink for real-world asset workflows.
