According to the company’s CFO, Bithumb has been “strengthened[ing] accounting and internal control policy” before the IPO plans, which have already been postponed until 2025.
South Korea-based cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb is reportedly expecting its initial public offering (IPO) sometime after 2028, in another delay after restructuring and regulatory hurdles.
According to a Tuesday report from Maeil Business News Korea, a Bithumb official said that it would “focus on preparing for the listing until 2027.” CFO Jeong Sang-gyun said at the company’s annual shareholder meeting that Bithumb was “strengthen[ing] accounting principles and internal control” in connection with the IPO advisory agreement with Samjong KPMG.
At Tuesday’s meeting, shareholders reconfirmed that CEO Lee Jae-won would be appointed to a two-year appointment, but the delayed IPO schedule was the last straw as Bithumb initially expected to list in 2025. Under Lee, the exchange was suspended for six months and hit with a $24 million fine by South Korean authorities for alleged violations of anti-money laundering regulations.
The listing of a gigantic South Korean exchange may impact local markets and the adoption of cryptocurrencies in the country. According to Dunamu, the operator of the Upbit cryptocurrency exchange planning IPO following a share swap with Naver Financial, expected in September.
Related: South Korea’s tax agency is looking for a private crypto custodian after the security expires
Bithumb made headlines in February after the exchange mistakenly credited many users with around 2,000 Bitcoin (BTC) instead of 2,000 South Korean won. The error briefly resulted in an internal balance totaling more than $40 billion, although most of the funds existed only on the exchange’s internal ledger and were later reversed.
Mixed Signals as South Korea’s Crypto Policy Changes
Lee Jae-myung took office as president of South Korea in June 2025, and his political party moved quickly to introduce regulations for the issuance of payment stablecoins.
South Korean lawmakers initially proposed a tax raise on cryptocurrency profits that is expected to take effect in 2021. However, according to reports in March, the measure has faced repeated delays and may be scrapped altogether.
As of March 2025, approximately 16 million South Koreans had accounts on cryptocurrency exchanges.
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