As the cryptocurrency market surged, companies providing crypto services continued to increase their earnings, yet a notable development occurred. According to the transaction volume, Dunamu, the owner of Upbit, one of the largest crypto exchanges in South Korea, experienced a 81.6% decrease in net profit in the third quarter of 2023 compared to the same period last year.
Why Did Dunamu’s Revenues Fall?
Dunamu announced a net profit of approximately 123 million dollars, which is 159.9 billion Korean won (KRW) in the third quarter of 2022. However, in a financial report presented to the public on November 28th, the company revealed that it only generated about 23 million dollars worth of revenue, which is 29.5 billion KRW, in the third quarter of this year. This indicates a decline of 81% in the company’s net profit compared to the same period last year.
Dunamu attributed the decrease in sales to the economic downturn and a sluggish investment market. In addition, company officials stated that the drop in net profit was also due to the downturn experienced in the cryptocurrency market compared to the previous quarter.
Despite these developments, Dunamu argued that the widespread adoption of blockchain services would be a significant supporting force in overcoming the adverse market conditions. A Dunamu spokesperson stated in the report that they plan to continue their efforts to revitalize the blockchain ecosystem and create a more advanced investment environment based on technological advancements.
Increased Hack Attacks on Upbit Raise Concerns
The company, in its financial report, also disclosed that black-hat hackers targeted the crypto exchange Upbit 159,000 times in the first half of 2023. On October 9th, South Korea-based Yonhap News Agency reported that Upbit experienced a 117% increase in hack attempts in 2023 compared to the first half of 2022.
Despite the increasing number of hack attempts, the cryptocurrency exchange has not reported any losses from attacks since a 50 million dollar incident in 2019. Recently, many leading crypto exchanges in the market have suffered significant fund losses due to hack attacks.
- Dunamu’s net profit plummets in market slump.
- Blockchain services seen as a remedy to revive the ecosystem.
- Upbit withstands an uptick in hack attempts without loss.
