Two of South Korea’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, Upbit and Bithumb, have announced temporary suspensions of deposit and withdrawal services for MANTRA (OM) and Pocket Network (POKT) respectively. The halts, both scheduled to begin on June 9, are necessary to facilitate planned network upgrades on each blockchain.
Upbit will suspend MANTRA deposits and withdrawals starting at 12:00 a.m. UTC on June 9. The exchange stated the move is part of a routine upgrade aimed at improving the MANTRA network’s performance and functionality. While no exact end time was provided, services will resume once the upgrade is completed and stability is confirmed. Trading of MANTRA pairs on Upbit is expected to remain active during the maintenance window, though users will be unable to move tokens in or out.
Similarly, Bithumb will halt all POKT deposit and withdrawal functionality at 10:00 a.m. UTC on June 9. This precautionary measure is tied to a network upgrade for Pocket Network, a decentralized infrastructure protocol for Web3 applications. As with Upbit, Bithumb advised users to settle any pending transfers before the deadline, and it confirmed that POKT trading pairs will likely continue as normal. The exchange has not yet disclosed a specific resumption time.
Both suspensions are standard operational procedures across the industry, intended to prevent errors or lost funds during blockchain upgrades. For MANTRA, a platform focused on real-world asset tokenization and DeFi, the upgrade aligns with its roadmap to enhance scalability. Pocket Network’s upgrade is expected to bring security or scalability improvements. Traders on either exchange are encouraged to plan ahead, as reduced liquidity around such events can sometimes heighten short-term price volatility.
