South Korean police begin storing seized crypto with Upbit Custody

South Korea’s National Police Agency has begun transferring cryptocurrencies seized during criminal investigations to Dunamu’s Upbit Custody service under a nationwide overhaul of how police departments store and manage digital assets. Summary South Korea’s National Police Agency has begun transferring seized cryptocurrencies to Upbit Custody after several incidents involving missing Bitcoin held by law enforcement authorities. Under the new arrangement, seized assets will be stored in offline cold wallets, with Upbit providing round the clock technical support and covering 100% of any custody losses. The nationwide rollout follows Dunamu’s selection as the police custody contractor in August, replacing a system where individual investigators managed confiscated crypto through hardware wallets. Previous security failures included a 2021 Gwangju investigation involving 1,798.3 Bitcoin and a separate case in which 22 Bitcoin went missing from Seoul’s Gangnam Police Station. According to a November 9 report by local newspaper Segye Ilbo, the agency has instructed all investigative departments to use the external custody provider after several incidents in which Bitcoin held by law enf...