Caution Alert

Simple explanation

Background: Korean exchanges use two labels that sound alike but mean very different things. 유의 종목 (investment warning) starts a review that can end in delisting, while 투자주의 or 주의 (caution) is a short-lived market alert about how a coin is trading right now, and it usually lapses on its own.

The caution alert is a badge on the trading screen that says, in effect, "this coin is trading unusually, be careful". It does not open a delisting review, and it often comes off once its period ends. Exchanges name it slightly differently: Upbit speaks of caution coins (주의 종목), Bithumb of virtual asset alerts (가상자산 경보).

It grew out of the virtual asset alert system that DAXA, the alliance of Korea's won-market exchanges, started on 4 July 2023 at Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit (now Digital X) and Gopax. There are five types: a price swing (a sharp rise or fall over the past 24 hours), a trading volume surge (over the past 1 to 10 days), a deposit surge (far more coins flowing into the exchange over the same period), a price gap (the exchange's price far from the CoinMarketCap global price), and concentrated trading (a few accounts making up a large share of buying or selling over the past 24 hours).

At launch the exchanges agreed to show the badge for up to 24 hours and left the exact figures and exceptions to each exchange, allowing for differences in trading volume between exchanges and coins. So the same coin can be flagged on one exchange but not another, and start and end times can differ. Coins whose volume, deposits or price moves fall short of a minimum can be left out to avoid confusing investors.

From late January 2026 the single caution level became three: caution (주의), warning (경고) and danger (위험). Upbit said the change was agreed with the Financial Supervisory Service and DAXA and applied it from 29 January, as did Bithumb; Korbit and Gopax switched a day or two earlier. Bithumb then announced an expanded, refined alert system from 6 August 2026. According to press reports at the time, a fall of 50-75% from the previous close means caution, 75-90% warning and 90% or more danger; a gap from the CoinMarketCap price of 10% to under 20% means caution, 20% to under 30% warning and 30% or more danger; a rise of 200% or more from the previous day is also danger. The exchanges do not publish every detection rule or exception, to stop people gaming or dodging the alerts, and the rules can change, so treat these numbers as a guide only.

Upbit does not flag a gap of ±3% to under ±10%; it only shows it on the coin's detail page, where it also explains the criteria and reason for each alert. Coins listed less than 96 hours ago are left out of the volume and deposit surge alerts, and their price swing alerts are measured from the opening price. Upbit's concentrated trading alert fires when top accounts dominate the buying while the price rises, or the selling while it falls. Press reports say that when a coin carries danger alerts for both a price swing and a price gap at once, market orders are restricted and limit orders are accepted only within a set price range.

An alert means the price is moving hard in a short time, so chasing a spike can leave you holding a coin whose price soon collapses. A deposit surge means coins are pouring in from other exchanges or wallets, which can mean more selling ahead, and concentrated trading suggests a handful of accounts may be moving the price. An alert is not a buy or sell signal, and no alert does not mean a coin is safe.

The price gap alert is the one closest to the kimchi premium, since it fires when the Korean price is far above (a premium) or far below (a reverse premium) global prices. Coins with gaps that wide often have deposits closed or have just been listed, so few coins are in Korea. Once deposits reopen or coins arrive from abroad, the gap can close fast and the Korean price can drop hard. CoinGaja's price tables hide premiums beyond ±15% as possibly bad data, so a coin with a warning- or danger-level price gap alert may show a blank premium.

CoinGaja's Listings and delistings page has a "Caution alerts now" table that gathers the alerts currently on Upbit and Bithumb by coin and exchange, with each alert's type (price swing, trading surge, deposit surge, gap from overseas, few accounts). Bithumb's alerts also show their step (danger › warning › caution) and when they end. Upbit's public API does not give the step, so only the type appears for Upbit, and the most serious alerts are listed first.

Example

※ Example numbers, for illustration only

See it on CoinGaja

• 🗓️ Listings and delistings›
• 📊 Kimchi premium by coin›
• 🚦 Deposit and withdrawal suspensions by exchange›

Related terms