Two of South Korea’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, Bithumb and Upbit, have announced temporary suspensions of deposit and withdrawal services for separate altcoins due to planned network upgrades. The halts, while routine, affect POLYX on Bithumb and STX on Upbit, with both exchanges citing technical alignment with upcoming blockchain improvements.
Bithumb to Pause POLYX Services on July 21
Bithumb, a leading exchange, will suspend POLYX deposits and withdrawals starting at 10:00 a.m. UTC on July 21. The exchange stated the move is necessary to support a scheduled upgrade on the Polymesh network – a blockchain designed specifically for regulated security tokens. The exact duration of the halt remains unspecified, but services will resume once the upgrade is completed and network stability is confirmed. Trading of POLYX on Bithumb will likely continue without interruption during this period. POLYX is the native token of Polymesh, which focuses on tokenizing securities and enhancing compliance in decentralized finance. The upgrade is expected to bring improvements to network performance and security.
Upbit Suspends STX Deposits and Withdrawals on July 29
Upbit, the country’s largest exchange by volume, will halt STX deposit and withdrawal services beginning at 12:00 a.m. UTC on July 29. While no specific reason was given, the exchange likely needs to align its systems with the recent Nakamoto upgrade of the Stacks network, which introduced faster block times and enhanced security for smart contracts and decentralized applications built on Bitcoin. As with the POLYX suspension, STX trading may continue as normal, and users are advised to complete any pending transfers before the cutoff.
Both events are standard operational measures in the crypto industry, reflecting exchanges’ efforts to ensure compatibility with evolving blockchain protocols. While they cause temporary liquidity constraints for the affected tokens, they do not indicate any underlying issues. Users should monitor official exchange announcements for service resumption.
