$SAND Under Caution as South Korean Exchanges Investigate Cross-Chain Bridge Incident

South Korean crypto exchanges Upbit and Bithumb have put The Sandbox's $SAND token on caution after an unexplained security incident involving a cross-chain bridge. The exchange placed $SAND under its trading caution framework, applying to the Korean won and Bitcoin markets, while deposits and withdrawals were suspended since August 22 at 11:12 a.m. KST.

The Sandbox's smart contract on Base and BNB Smart Chain detected abnormal token minting activity, prompting an attacker to mint unbacked $SAND. The project estimated the actual impact at less than 0.01% of $SAND's total supply, but affected liquidity providers may be compensated.

Upbit has scheduled its initial review period from August 24 through September 28, during which it will assess whether trading support should continue or be terminated. Bithumb will make a decision between September 28 and October 2 on extending or removing the designation.