South Korea’s Bithumb, one of the country’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, has had its six-month partial business suspension overturned by the Seoul Administrative Court. According to the Yonhap news agency, Judge Gong Hyeon-jin of the Second Administrative Division accepted Bithumb’s request to suspend the enforcement on the same day it was filed, effectively allowing the exchange to resume full operations.
Sanctions lifted on Bithumb
The sanctions against Bithumb originated from a March decision by the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU). The exchange was accused of severe breaches of local anti-money laundering regulations, involving 6.65 million transactions flagged for compliance failures. Among these, the authorities highlighted that identity verification procedures were not completed in 3.55 million cases, while required transaction blocks were missing from 3.04 million others. During the same period, Bithumb was hit with a fine of 36.8 billion won (approximately $24.6 million) and ordered to halt certain business activities for six months.
In its March statement, the Financial Services Commission explained that the penalties were imposed due to violations of the Act on Reporting and Use of Specific Financial Transaction Information. However, it remains unclear whether the court’s decision also suspends the $24.6 million fine, as no official announcement has been made on this aspect.
Regulatory tightening in Korea’s crypto sector
The move to penalize Bithumb comes at a time when South Korean regulators are stepping up oversight of the digital asset industry. In 2025, the FIU handed a similar three-month partial business ban and a 35.2 billion won penalty to Dunamu, operator of Upbit—the nation’s largest exchange. Meanwhile, competitor Korbit faced a smaller fine of 2.73 billion won. Regulators also issued various institutional warnings to these platforms, signalling a consistent and strict approach to market regulation.
Founded in 2014, Bithumb has grown to become one of South Korea’s most prominent crypto trading platforms by transaction volume. Data from CoinGecko confirms that the exchange has seen particularly heavy trading activity in recent years.
Ongoing data probes and recent sector developments
The lifting of operational restrictions on Bithumb marks a significant moment for the industry, even as investigations into data privacy remain underway. South Korea’s Personal Information Protection Commission is currently examining whether exchanges, including Bithumb and Upbit, have shared order book data with overseas entities.
This court ruling comes not long after revelations that Bithumb had mistakenly sent customers billions of dollars’ worth of bitcoin in recent months. In light of this, legal scrutiny and data-sharing investigations around the company have intensified.
Other exchanges in the sector have also faced heightened regulatory pressure, indicating that South Korea’s policy approach to cryptocurrencies is becoming increasingly assertive.
An FIU spokesperson stated that harsh sanctions were imposed on Bithumb due to inadequate adherence to identity verification procedures and failure to implement required transaction blocking.
Although Bithumb has managed to lift the partial business suspension for now, further developments regarding the substantial penalty are expected in the coming days.
