South Korean Court Overturns Bithumb's Six-Month Business Suspension

In a significant legal victory, a South Korean court has reversed Bithumb's six-month partial business suspension, as reported by Yonhap News. The Seoul Administrative Court's Judge Gong Hyeon-jin granted Bithumb's request for a stay of execution on the same day it was filed. However, it remains unclear whether the $24.6 million fine imposed by the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) has also been suspended. The fine and suspension were imposed in March due to alleged widespread violations of South Korea's anti-money laundering regulations. Bithumb, one of the largest crypto exchanges in South Korea, had filed a request with the court to lift the suspension and fine, which were imposed after the regulator discovered millions of violations of the country's anti-money laundering rules. The sanctions were related to violations of the Act on Reporting and Using Specified Financial Transaction Information. According to the FIU, Bithumb committed approximately 6.65 million violations, including failures to verify customer identities and improper transaction blocking. While the court ruling brings relief to the exchange, it comes amid reports that the Personal Information Protection Commission has launched an investigation into Bithumb, Upbit, and other platforms regarding the sharing of order books with overseas platforms. The case is part of South Korea's increased regulatory scrutiny of the cryptocurrency market. In 2025, the FIU imposed a three-month partial suspension and a $35.2 billion fine on Dunamu, the operator of Upbit, for compliance gaps. Bithumb, established in 2014, is one of the largest exchanges in South Korea by trading volume, according to CoinGecko data. The suspension lift comes two months after Bithumb accidentally distributed billions of dollars worth of bitcoin to users.