what's bithumb?
Bithumb is a prominent South Korean cryptocurrency exchange platform founded in 2014 and headquartered in Seoul. Originally launched as Xcoin, it rebranded to Bithumb in 2015 and has grown to become one of the largest exchanges in South Korea, facilitating trading in a wide range of cryptocurrencies against the Korean Won (KRW). The platform supports spot trading, futures, and other financial products, emphasizing user security through features like cold storage and multi-signature wallets. Bithumb also extends beyond trading with services such as a comprehensive payment ecosystem via Bithumb Cash, enabling cryptocurrency use at thousands of partnered stores in Korea. The exchange operates with a focus on the Asian market, particularly South Korea's regulated environment, and lists hundreds of tokens on its KRW markets. It has integrated partnerships for DeFi, NFTs, and tokenized assets, while maintaining compliance with local financial authorities. Bithumb's infrastructure supports high-volume trading with advanced order types and API access for developers, making it a key gateway for retail and institutional users entering the crypto space. Over the years, Bithumb has navigated challenges like security incidents and regulatory scrutiny, implementing robust measures to enhance trust. Its role in the ecosystem includes fostering blockchain adoption through listings of emerging projects and collaborations with global networks.
Bithumb suspended DOT deposits/withdrawals after Hyperbridge exploit forged 1B DOT.
Suspended DOT deposits and withdrawals following a Hyperbridge gateway exploit that minted 1 billion forged DOT tokens on Ethereum mainnet.
scheduled to host a meeting with Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire on 2026-04-13
Suspended the DRIFT wallet.
Listed Venice (VVV) with a KRW trading pair on 2026-04-01.
Delists NOM token on April 13, 2026.
Listed KAT (Katana) with a KRW trading pair on 2026-03-26.
Received inflows of 140 million BTR tokens (41% of circulating supply) over approximately 24 hours starting March 23, 2026, during an 80% price decline of BTR from $0.2 to $0.04.
Seeks CEO reappointment amid fines.
Listed PHA token for trading.
Lists ROBO/KRW trading pair on the exchange.
Recorded $33M in XRP trading volume in a 24-hour period ending on March 15, 2026.
Listed EDGE (Definitive) on spot markets on 2026-03-04, utilizing the Base network for deposits.
Listed CFG (Centrifuge) in its KRW market on 2026-03-04, supporting deposits via the Ethereum network.
Suspended OM trading for MANTRA token upgrade, effective week of March 3, 2026.
Lists EtherGas (GWEI) on its KRW market on February 26, 2026, at 14:00 KST, with deposits supported only via the Ethereum network.
Listed GoPlus (GPS) as a secondary listing, previously on Binance and Bybit, and Espresso (ESP) on its KRW market on 2026-02-24.
Listed AZTEC token with KRW trading pairs, enabling South Korean won demand for the privacy-focused Ethereum layer-2 token.
XRP is one of the most traded assets on the exchange, with the XRP/KRW pair regularly hitting over $1 billion in daily trading volume.
Experienced a North Korean hack that was detected and stopped quickly.
Faces South Korean regulatory requirement capping exchange ownership stakes at 20%, with a three-to-six-year grace period starting in 2026.
Waiving trading fees for one week as compensation following the operational error.
Writing off $9 million in Bitcoin losses following a giveaway error.
Resolved 620,000 BTC miscredit on February 6, 2026, recovering 99.7% of funds and covering the remaining 1,788 BTC to restore 100% backing after a 17% price fall.
Executed a large erroneous transfer of 2,000 BTC due to a fat-finger error.
Holds approximately 46,000 BTC in exchange reserves.
Sues to recover Bitcoin after mistakenly transferring $42 billion, including a Feb 7, 2026 reward distribution error that credited 695 users with 2,000 BTC each, with 7 BTC still missing, prompting South Korea's FSC mandate for 5-minute asset reconciliation.
Sold 2,906 BTC on January 23, 2026.
Listed SKR token for trading.
Listed USDE (USDe) spot trading on January 14, 2026 at 09:00 UTC.
South Korea's Supreme Court ruled that bitcoins held on Bithumb are subject to seizure under the Criminal Procedure Act, establishing that exchange-held cryptocurrencies constitute electronically recorded assets with economic value that may be lawfully seized by investigators.
Delists DICE and EVZ trading pairs on 2026-01-26.
Identified over $200M in crypto sitting dormant across 2.6M inactive accounts, with some balances untouched for nearly 12 years.
suspended FLOW trading following a security exploit on the Flow blockchain on December 27, 2025
Lists ZKP/KRW trading pair.
$STABLE token lists on Bithumb spot trading.
$BOB token lists on Bithumb exchange.
$XION price surges 170% following the Bithumb listing announcement.
$XION token lists on Bithumb, providing regulated access to more than 8 million users.
$MON token from Monad lists on Bithumb at 3PM UTC today with simultaneous listings on 10 other major exchanges including Coinbase, Upbit, and Kraken. $YGG trading campaign goes live on Bithumb for Korean users.
Fined ₩36.8 billion ($24.6 million) and suspended partially for six months by South Korea's FIU, effective March 27, 2026, for 6.65 million AML and KYC violations.
Meteora AG launches on multiple exchanges including Bithumb, Upbit, Binance, OKX, Bybit, Gate, and Kraken.
$F token from SynFuturesDefi lists on Bithumb as a secondary listing, alongside other exchanges including Upbit KRW and Binance.
Delays KOSDAQ IPO to after 2028 at $1B valuation, with CFO Jeong Sang-gyun citing strengthening accounting policies and internal controls.
$IN token from Infinit Labs lists on Bithumb in October alongside Upbit listing.
The 7th edition of Bithumb's deposit-and-sell trading event offers a total of 10 million won in daily prizes.
STX deposits and withdrawals suspend starting November 11 at 5:00 PM.
$MMT lists on Bithumb with KRW trading pair, while Upbit only offers BTC and USDT pairs.
Bithumb designates Balancer (BAL) as a trading caution stock.
$DOOD lists on Bithumb in October alongside Upbit and OKX listings.
An airdrop event launches to celebrate ENSO's addition to the KRW trading market.
ENSO lists on Bithumb with KRW market and no transaction fees promotion.
$SOON token lists on Bithumb in October along with other major Korean exchanges (Upbit, Coinone, GOPAX), improving accessibility and liquidity for the Solana-based L2 project.
$RON token lists on Bithumb, with the announcement made during Korea Blockchain Week.
Bithumb lists INFINIT's $IN token with KRW trading pair.
Meteora's $MET token lists on Bithumb during its Token Generation Event, with concurrent listings across multiple major exchanges including Coinbase, Binance, Upbit, and OKX.
Bithumb lists CPOOL/KRW trading pair, while Upbit adds CPOOL trading pairs against KRW, BTC, and USDT for Clearpool, a decentralized credit market project.
Korean crypto exchange trading volume crashes 66% since April 10th to 4.2739 trillion won on April 20th, with combined volumes from five major exchanges including Bithumb now at just 18.59% of traditional stock market levels.
Korean Financial Services Commission and Fair Trade Commission conduct joint study on market monopoly concerns specifically examining Bithumb and Upbit's dominant Korean won market share, with completion expected in December to develop competition-promoting measures. FSC advances Second Phase Virtual Asset Bill to shift exchange listing oversight from self-regulation to public regulation and plans stablecoin framework announcement within the year.
Binance secures South Korea's regulatory approval to acquire GOPAX after a two-year review, marking its return to the Korean crypto market where Upbit and Bithumb currently dominate.
$DOOD and $ZBT list on the exchange as new trading pairs.
$TON listed on Bithumb as part of TON Foundation's South Korea market expansion strategy, which includes local partnerships and K-pop collaborations.
IPO expected in 2026 according to crypto trader watchlist, positioning among major crypto companies planning to go public including Kraken, Ripple Labs, and Grayscale.
Both Bithumb and Upbit implement Aptos as the exclusive blockchain for USDt deposits and withdrawals in Korea, positioning it as the lowest cost and fastest option for stablecoin transactions.
New OECD crypto reporting framework implementation begins 2027, with cross-border transaction sharing starting 2026, affecting foreign investors on Korean exchanges and Korean traders overseas.
Major Korean exchange announces co-hosting of KBW 2025 conference (Sept 23-24), establishing direct pathway for global projects to access Korean market through enhanced regulatory and institutional connections.
$BIO token lists on Bithumb, driving 12.9% price increase.
Financial results reveal revenue growth of 35% YoY while net profit drops 46.5%, indicating margin pressure.
PROVE token lists on Upbit with KRW/BTC/USDT pairs and Bithumb with KRW pair.
New Swellchain integration enables $SWELL deposits and withdrawals across Swellchain and Ethereum networks.
New $MERL/KRW trading pair launches on Korean market.
New $OM/KRW trading pair goes live on Bithumb, expanding Korean market presence with dual major exchange listings.
New KRW trading pairs for H and OM tokens launching; WOM and KWENTA designated as cautionary assets with deposit suspension from July 3.
Exchange launches KRW stablecoin ideathon with $22M investment commitment for successful startup teams.
Korean exchange achieves 25% market share and plans 2025 IPO with Samsung Securities as underwriter.
$G network support launches on Bithumb exchange.
Binance Alpha and Bithumb (South Korea's second-largest exchange) confirm NXPC token listings for May 15 launch.
New AI16Z/KRW trading pair launches on Bithumb, South Korea's second-largest crypto exchange, at 6:00 PM local time.
Major exchange announces IPO plans for second half of 2025.
Second-largest South Korean exchange adds GRASS and XYO KRW trading pairs.
Security breach at SK Telecom prompts enhanced security measures implementation.
Major SK Telecom security breach exposes SIM card data; exchange implements real-time USIM monitoring.
Corporate restructuring underway with non-exchange operations spinoff by July 31; Nasdaq IPO planned for later this year.
Major exchange announces 2025 IPO plans with split into two entities, targeting Kosdaq and Nasdaq listings.
Major corporate restructuring announced with non-exchange businesses splitting into new entity 'Bithumb A' by July 2025.
Major corporate restructuring scheduled for July 2025, with IPO planned for H2 2023 on Korean market or Nasdaq. Net profits surge 560% YoY to $110M.
Exchange initiates corporate restructuring and separates non-exchange division in preparation for IPO.
New BABY/KRW trading pair listing announced on South Korea's second-largest crypto exchange.
REZ/KRW trading pair launches on April 1st at 4:00 PM local time.
Exchange achieves $110 million in net profits in 2024.