Upbit has placed Sophon (SOPH) under a trading warning and suspended deposits, while Binance has scheduled seven USDC spot pairs for removal on Sept. 25.
Summary
- Upbit placed SOPH under trading caution and halted deposits across KRW, BTC and USDT markets.
- The SOPH review runs until mid-October, with delisting possible if Upbit’s concerns remain unresolved afterward.
- Binance will remove seven USDC spot pairs on September 25 after reviewing liquidity and volume.
- Underlying tokens will remain tradable on Binance through other supported pairs after USDC markets close.
- Binance previously removed margin support for four of the seven affected USDC pairs this month.
Upbit designated SOPH as a trading-caution asset at 3:00 p.m. Korea Standard Time on Sept. 22, covering SOPH/KRW, SOPH/BTC and SOPH/USDT. The South Korean exchange cited shortcomings involving disclosure, changes to the token’s circulation plan and the procedures used to make those changes.
The exchange said its review found “numerous deficiencies” and a “potential for user harm.” SOPH deposits were blocked when the notice was published, while existing spot markets remain available during the assessment.
On Binance, a separate review produced a narrower action. Binance announced that AIXBT/USDC, DOLO/USDC, ENJ/USDC, HUMA/USDC, SXT/USDC, TNSR/USDC and TURTLE/USDC will stop trading at 03:00 UTC on Sept. 25. The exchange cited factors including “poor liquidity and trading volume.”
Upbit gives SOPH until mid-October for review
Upbit’s warning period runs from Sept. 22 through the second week of October, which the exchange defined as Oct. 12–16. During that window, the exchange will assess whether the concerns behind the designation have been addressed.
Three outcomes remain possible under Upbit’s process. The exchange can lift the warning, extend its review period or terminate trading support. Upbit said a final delisting decision could follow if the reasons for the warning are not fully resolved. Any extension or termination would be announced separately.
Deposits sent after the 3:00 p.m. KST cutoff will not be credited normally and are subject to return, according to the notice. Deposit-return processing is suspended while deposit support remains closed and would resume sequentially once the service becomes available.
The warning focuses heavily on information supplied to investors. Upbit said its assessment considered whether material information had been disclosed on time through appropriate electronic channels, the scale of changes to SOPH’s circulation plan and whether procedures governing such changes were sufficiently transparent and reasonable.
Upbit’s published post-listing framework explains that warning cases can involve project circumstances, technology, technical support and trading conditions. A project can have the warning lifted if the underlying problem is resolved, while unresolved concerns can lead to termination after a review period.
A recent example showed the other possible outcome. Crypto.news reported that Upbit removed a warning after reviewing the TAIKO security incident and project remediation measures in July. The exchange resumed deposits once it determined the issues behind the designation had been addressed.
Bithumb places SOPH under similar scrutiny
Upbit is not the only South Korean exchange reviewing SOPH. CoinNess reported on Sept. 22 that Bithumb had placed the token on a warning list over similar concerns involving disclosures, circulation-plan changes and the procedures surrounding them.
Bithumb’s action gives the case a second South Korean exchange review, though each platform controls its own trading-support decisions. Bithumb’s general policy states that assets placed under investment caution remain monitored and can ultimately lose trading support if identified problems are not corrected.
SOPH has already undergone infrastructure changes during 2026. Bithumb resumed SOPH transfers on July 28 after moving its supported deposits and withdrawals from the Sophon network to Ethereum. The exchange said the original Sophon network would no longer be supported for transfers after the switch.
Upbit temporarily halted SOPH deposits and withdrawals for another network transition beginning Sept. 8 and resumed them Sept. 11, according to the exchange’s announcement archive. The Sept. 22 warning does not state that either network migration caused its concerns about token circulation, so the two matters should not be treated as the same issue.
Separate scrutiny had emerged outside South Korea before Tuesday’s notices. As crypto.news reported, Binance placed SOPH under closer review in its August Monitoring Tag assessment of five tokens. Binance did not provide an asset-specific reason for SOPH at the time, and a Monitoring Tag does not itself remove the token from spot trading.
Upbit’s market data showed SOPH/KRW near 6.01 won during Sept. 22 trading, down 1.64% over 24 hours at the captured reading. The token had traded between 5.87 won and 6.11 won over that period. The data do not establish that Upbit’s warning caused the price movement.
Binance removal affects seven USDC pairs, not tokens
Binance’s Sept. 25 action operates differently from the SOPH warning. The exchange is removing individual quote pairs after a regular market review, not announcing a full delisting of AIXBT, DOLO, ENJ, HUMA, SXT, TNSR or TURTLE.
When trading ends at 03:00 UTC, users can continue buying or selling the underlying assets through other Binance spot markets where available. USDC remains supported as a Binance asset; the action concerns only the seven named order books.
Spot Trading Bot services attached to the seven markets will stop at the same time. Binance advised customers to disable or cancel affected bots before the cutoff to reduce the risk of unwanted outcomes when those markets close.
The exchange has used the same procedure repeatedly during September. In related coverage, crypto.news reported on Binance’s previous removal of four USDC spot pairs involving BREV, COOKIE, LA and QNT on Sept. 18. Each underlying token remained available through other supported Binance markets.
That process differs from a complete asset delisting. Binance’s phased removal of Pax Dollar from multiple exchange services, for example, includes separate deadlines for spot trading, deposits, withdrawals, margin, lending and other products. No comparable token-wide withdrawal schedule appears in Tuesday’s seven-pair notice.
Four affected pairs already lost Binance margin access
Several of the spot markets scheduled for removal have already been taken out of Binance Margin. The exchange removed AIXBT/USDC, SXT/USDC, TNSR/USDC and TURTLE/USDC from both cross and isolated margin trading on Sept. 3.
BREV/USDC was part of that earlier margin action but is not included in the Sept. 25 spot-pair announcement. DOLO/USDC, ENJ/USDC and HUMA/USDC appear in Tuesday’s spot notice but were not among the USDC pairs listed in Binance’s Sept. 3 margin removal.
Binance says its spot-pair reviews consider market quality and may remove individual order books when liquidity or trading volume falls below the exchange’s requirements. Tuesday’s announcement did not provide separate volume thresholds or pair-specific data explaining why each of the seven markets was selected.
For SOPH holders, the next scheduled checkpoint is Upbit’s review period during Oct. 12–16, unless the exchange extends it or announces another decision earlier. Deposits remain suspended while SOPH/KRW, SOPH/BTC and SOPH/USDT continue under the trading-warning designation.
For the seven Binance markets, spot trading and applicable bot services are scheduled to end at 03:00 UTC on Sept. 25. Binance has not announced deposit or withdrawal suspensions for the seven underlying tokens as part of this pair-removal notice.