Bithumb hit with $24m fine as South Korea continues to tighten crypto oversight

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South Korea’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) has fined Bithumb ₩36.8 billion (approx. US$24 million) for violating its AML obligations, making it the largest fine ever imposed on a cryptocurrency exchange in the country. 

The authority has also issued a six-month partial suspension restricting services for new users on the platform. Existing customers may continue trading and withdrawing funds. Bithumb’s chief executive and reporting officer were also issued personal penalties.

The sanctions follow an investigation between 2024 and 2025 into the country’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, which identified approximately 6.65 million violations at Bithumb. This includes 3.55 million inadequate KYC procedures and 3.04 million cases of allowing transactions that should not have been permitted.

South Korean authorities have recently tightened oversight of the country’s crypto sector and have issued penalties on other exchanges for compliance failures. Similar penalties have recently been imposed on other exchanges as regulators push for stricter adherence to AML standards, including the largest exchange in the country, Upbit.

The suspension comes only weeks after Bithumb erroneously distributed bitcoin worth US$44 billion to users. The exchange had intended to give users small cash rewards of at least ₩2,000 (approx. US$1.40) as part of a promotion, but instead distributed a minimum of 2,000 bitcoins (approx. US$148 million) to each winner. 

It has since recovered 99.7% of the 620,000 bitcoins.