Two South Korean Exchanges Suspend KAVA Deposits and Withdrawals After Unusual Activity on Kava Lend
Key Facts
South Korean exchanges Bithumb and Coinone temporarily suspended KAVA deposits and withdrawals on November 14, 2026, after signs of a security issue and unusual activity in the Kava ecosystem. Bithumb began its suspension at 19:35 Korea time, followed by Coinone at 19:40, according to notices from the two exchanges. The move came after Kava said tokens of its currency had been transferred to BNB Smart Chain and sold there. The exchanges cited security precautions and asset protection, while Kava said the incident’s impact was limited to the Kava Lend protocol. It has not been established that the suspension included withdrawals through the Axelar bridge.
Kava said the unusual activity involved KAVA tokens moving to BNB Smart Chain and being sold on that network. The company limited the scope of the incident to the Kava Lend protocol, a point also reported by CoinNess, citing an official statement. Kava also denied that the incident resulted from an unlimited issuance of KAVA tokens, according to reports by TokenPost and CoinNess. The information available did not attribute the activity to a specific decentralized application. Kava therefore linked the incident to a particular lending protocol while denying that it originated from an unlimited increase in the currency’s supply.
The direct impact extended to deposit and withdrawal services at partner exchanges, with TokenPost reporting that partner exchanges had suspended KAVA-related services as a routine precaution. Bithumb said the suspension would remain in place until the network situation stabilized, and that it would notify customers of the service resumption through the same notice. Coinone said the suspension applied to deposits and withdrawals, while other services, including trading and staking, were unaffected unless a separate notice was issued. The exchange said the resumption date for deposits and withdrawals would be announced after security checks were completed and network stability verified. The announced restrictions therefore differed in scope from a full suspension of the exchanges’ services.
Bithumb warned that KAVA price volatility could rise and urged its customers to exercise caution when trading the currency. The warning did not include a price movement figure or specify the expected degree of volatility. In a statement reported by CoinNess, Kava said the incident’s impact was confined to Kava Lend and that the situation was under control. This statement came alongside its denial of an unlimited issuance, with both clarifications addressing the scope and nature of the incident. The available reports did not specify when the exchanges’ deposit and withdrawal services would be restored.
Kava said it would provide additional information as soon as possible, without specifying a timeline in TokenPost’s report. Bithumb tied the resumption of service to network stability and said it would announce the return date in its notice. Coinone said it would announce a resumption date after completing security procedures and verifying stability. Until those announcements, KAVA deposits and withdrawals remained suspended at both exchanges, according to the published notices. The available information did not provide a unified timeline for the return of services.