In a significant legal development, a South Korean court has overturned the six-month partial business suspension previously imposed on Bithumb, a major cryptocurrency exchange in the country. In March, the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) had levied a fine of 36.8 billion won on Bithumb and enforced the suspension due to alleged compliance violations involving millions of transaction verification failures. Just months after these penalties, the Seoul Administrative Court’s 2nd Administrative Division intervened.
The role of the court, particularly Judge Gong Hyeon-jin, was pivotal as he accepted Bithumb’s application for a stay of execution on the same day it was filed. While the suspension was lifted, it remains unclear whether the accompanying multi-billion won fine was also suspended. The sanctions were originally imposed due to alleged violations related to the Act on Reporting and Using Specified Financial Transaction Information. Bithumb and other cryptocurrency platforms had faced scrutiny over compliance issues, but the recent court ruling marks a turning point for the exchange.
The Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) imposed a six-month partial business suspension on Bithumb and levied a 36.8 billion won fine in March. The FIU reported about 6.65 million violations by Bithumb under the Act on Reporting and Using Specified Financial Transaction Information, comprising roughly 3.55 million identity verification failures and about 3.04 million instances where transactions were not properly blocked. The sanctions therefore combined institutional measures and a monetary penalty focused on alleged lapses in transaction screening and customer identification. The source does not specify whether the 36.8 billion won fine was also suspended by the court. This summary is limited to the sanctions and the violation counts described in the original report.
The Personal Information Protection Commission initiated a probe into Upbit, Bithumb and other cryptocurrency platforms regarding the sharing of order books with overseas platforms. Separately, the Financial Intelligence Unit in 2025 handed Dunamu, the operator of Upbit, a three-month partial suspension and a 35.2 billion won fine for compliance gaps. Korbit received a penalty of 2.73 billion won and institutional warnings from regulators. These actions were reported as regulatory measures affecting multiple major South Korean crypto exchanges.
Separately from the exchange probes and sanctions, the Senate unanimously revised its rules to ban members and their staffs from wagers on prediction market platforms. The revision prohibits both members and their staffs from placing wagers on prediction market platforms.
A South Korean court overturned Bithumb’s six-month partial business suspension, allowing the exchange to resume operations affected by the sanction.
Regulatory scrutiny of cryptocurrency platforms continues in South Korea, with probes and enforcement actions targeting multiple major exchanges, including an inquiry by the Personal Information Protection Commission into order-book sharing with overseas platforms.
