Bithumb Secures Legal Victory in South Korea as Court Lifts Six-Month Suspension

In a recent development, a South Korean court has revoked the six-month partial business suspension of Bithumb, 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 submitted, although it is 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 significant 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 imposed by the FIU after the regulator discovered millions of violations of the country's anti-money laundering rules. The sanctions were based on violations of the Act on Reporting and Using Specified Financial Transaction Information, according to the Financial Services Commission. The FIU reported that Bithumb had committed approximately 6.65 million violations, including 3.55 million instances of failing to perform required customer identity verification and 3.04 million cases of failing to properly block transactions that should have been blocked. While the court's decision to end the suspension is a positive development for the exchange, it comes amidst reports that the Personal Information Protection Commission has launched an investigation into Upbit, Bithumb, and other platforms regarding the sharing of order books with overseas platforms. The case against Bithumb is part of South Korea's increased regulatory oversight 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 the country's largest exchange, Upbit, for compliance gaps. Korbit, a rival platform, faced a smaller penalty of $2.73 billion along with institutional warnings. Established in 2014, Bithumb is currently one of the largest exchanges in South Korea by trading volume, according to CoinGecko data. The lifting of the suspension comes two months after Bithumb accidentally distributed billions of dollars worth of bitcoin to users.