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Bithumb scores a legal win in South Korea as six-month suspension is lifted by local judge
TL;DR
A South Korean court has lifted Bithumb's six-month business suspension, allowing the crypto exchange to continue operations. The court's decision came after Bithumb filed a request to end the suspension imposed for alleged anti-money laundering violations.
Key points
- Bithumb's six-month business suspension was lifted by a South Korean court
- The suspension was due to alleged anti-money laundering violations
- Bithumb filed a request to end the suspension and fine imposed by the FIU
- The court's decision was made on the same day the request was presented
- The outcome of the 36.8 billion won fine is still uncertain
Mentioned in this story
BithumbSouth KoreaFinancial Intelligence UnitFinancial Services Commission
A South Korean court overturned Bithumb’s six-month partial business suspension Thursday, according to Yonhap News.
The news agency cited legal sources, saying that the 2nd Administrative Division of the Seoul Administrative Court’s Judge Gong Hyeon-jin had accepted Bithumb's application for a stay of execution on the same day it was presented. There was no clarification on whether a 36.8 billion won ($24.6 million) fine was also suspended. South Korea's financial watchdog imposed the fine and suspension in March, alleging massive violations of local anti-money laundering rules.
Bithumb, one of South Korea’s largest crypto exchanges, filed a request with the court requesting it end the suspension and fine imposed by the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) in March along after the regulator said it discovered the exchange had committed millions of violations of the country's anti-money laundering rules.
The sanctions stemmed from violations of the Act on Reporting and Using Specified Financial Transaction Information, the Financial Services Commission said in March.
The FIU said Bithumb committed about 6.65 million violations, of which 3.55 million involved failures to carry out required customer identity verification, while 3.04 million were related to cases where the exchange failed to properly block transactions that should have been blocked.
While the court ruling ending the suspension is good news for the exchange, it follows reports that South Korea’s Personal Information Protection Commission has initiated a probe into Upbit, Bithumb and other platforms regarding the sharing of order books with overseas platforms.
The case against Bithumb is part of South Korean regulators’ increased oversight of the cryptocurrency market. In 2025, the FIU handed Dunamu, the operator of the country's largest exchange, Upbit, a three-month partial suspension and a 35.2 billion won fine for compliance gaps. Korbit, a rival platform, faced a smaller penalty of 2.73 billion won along with institutional warnings.
Bithumb was established in 2014 and currently ranks among the largest exchanges in South Korea by trading volume, according to CoinGecko data. The end of the suspension comes two months after Bithumb mistakenly distributed billions of dollars worth of bitcoin to users.
Q&A
What led to Bithumb's six-month business suspension in South Korea?
Bithumb was suspended due to allegations of massive violations of local anti-money laundering rules, including millions of failures in customer identity verification.
What was the outcome of Bithumb's court appeal regarding the suspension?
The Seoul Administrative Court overturned the suspension, allowing Bithumb to resume its business operations.
Is the 36.8 billion won fine against Bithumb also suspended?
It remains unclear whether the 36.8 billion won fine imposed by South Korea's financial watchdog has been suspended along with the business suspension.
