Upbit Sub-Pocket
Sub-Pocket · Sub Pocket · Upbit Pocket · Main Pocket · Pocket feature · Pocket transfer · 서브포켓 · 메인포켓
An extra "pocket" an Upbit user creates inside one account to keep money and coins apart by purpose, next to the default main pocket.
Simple explanation
Background: Upbit is Korea's largest won-based crypto exchange. On June 1, 2026 it added a "Pocket" feature that splits one account into a main pocket and up to five sub-pockets (as reported in June 2026).
Every Upbit account gets a main pocket automatically. A sub-pocket is an extra compartment the user creates to hold part of their won and coins separately. Think of a banking app that lets you split one account into "bills" and "savings" boxes: it is still one account, one identity check and one login. The money is only divided on the books; a sub-pocket is not a second account.
Right now sub-pockets are mainly a tool for people who trade through software. According to June 2026 press coverage, sub-pockets work only through the Upbit API (Open API) and do not appear in the regular Upbit app or website. Each pocket can have its own API keys with their own permissions, so trading bot A can be limited to the money in sub-pocket 1 and bot B to the money in sub-pocket 2. Upbit also released an official developer kit (SDK) and a guide for letting AI assistants check prices and place orders in 2026, and pockets were presented as a way to set aside the money such bots and AI tools may use.
The two kinds of pocket can do different things. Anything that crosses the account's border - moving won in or out of the linked bank account, or sending coins to and from other exchanges and personal wallets - is done only from the main pocket. Upbit's developer documentation lists deposits and withdrawals as not supported for sub-pocket API keys. Inside the account, assets can move between pockets: main to sub, sub to main, and sub to another sub. A main-pocket key needs the "pocket management" permission for this, and a sub-pocket key needs the "asset transfer" permission. To stop pockets of the same account from trading with each other (self-trading), API orders can switch on self-match prevention (SMP).
The pockets are also being written into Upbit's terms. In a notice dated November 10, 2026, Upbit said that from December 10, 2026 its terms of use will define the main pocket and sub-pockets as part of an account: a feature for managing the balances and trades of digital assets and won by purpose inside one Upbit account. The revised terms say users may create sub-pockets besides the automatic main pocket, that the services and functions available may differ by pocket, and that external deposits and withdrawals of digital assets and won are handled only in the main pocket. From the same day the Open API terms add "asset transfers between pockets" to what the API can do. The notice does not say whether pockets will also appear in the app, so check Upbit's own notices around December 10.
A few things are easy to misread. First, assets moved to a sub-pocket leave the main pocket's balance, so looking at the main pocket alone can make it seem that money disappeared; the real total is the sum of all pockets. Second, the revised terms warn that moving assets between pockets can change the average purchase price shown for the coins in each pocket, so keep your own record of the prices and amounts you actually paid if you want exact profit and loss. Third, Upbit's developer documentation says API rate limits are counted per pocket; if you run several programs, check this too, and remember that limits and rules can change.
There is a safety angle as well. Pockets are created and filled by the user in the Upbit app, website and API key settings. A phone call or text claiming "move your assets to a sub-pocket to protect them" or "we will open a VIP-only pocket for you" and asking you to install an app or share a verification code or password is not a normal Upbit procedure. An API key shared with someone else lets them move assets as far as that key's permissions go. Since only main-pocket keys can withdraw, give withdrawal permission only when it is really needed and never send a key's secret to anyone.
Pockets do not affect the kimchi premium. They are an account-management feature, so they change neither coin prices nor premium figures. CoinGaja calculates the premium by comparing prices on Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone and Digital X (formerly Korbit) with overseas exchanges, and it never sees anyone's balance or pockets. If you build your own program on the Upbit API that uses prices or the premium, though, it helps to understand pockets and key permissions first. CoinGaja's exchange notices page lists Upbit's deposit and withdrawal suspensions and reopenings, and the premium-by-coin page shows the price gap between Korea and overseas. This entry is general information based on Upbit's notices, developer documentation and press reports up to November 10, 2026; the feature and the terms may change.
Example
Whole Upbit account ₩10,000,000 (about $7,140) → main pocket ₩5,000,000, sub-pocket 1 (bot A) ₩3,000,000, sub-pocket 2 (bot B) ₩2,000,000
Bot A loses −10% → only sub-pocket 1 changes: ₩3,000,000 × 0.9 = ₩2,700,000; the other pockets stay the same
Total = 5,000,000 + 2,700,000 + 2,000,000 = ₩9,700,000 → the main pocket alone shows ₩5,000,000, which looks like a loss
To send the coins worth ₩2,000,000 in sub-pocket 2 to another exchange → move them to the main pocket first, then withdraw from the main pocket (external transfers only from the main pocket)
※ Example numbers, for illustration only
See it on CoinGaja
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