Bithumb: what the sources say

Regulation, reserves, fees

Reserves note: No PoR found; CoinGecko says exchange reserves data unavailable for Bithumb.

Incidents and regulator actions found

Security incidents

• 2026-02 Bithumb mistakenly credited about 620,000 BTC (about 2,000 BTC each) to 695 customer accounts in an error; Bithumb said it was not a hack or security breach. Outcome: Bithumb says it restricted trading/withdrawals for the 695 accounts within 35 minutes and recovered 99.7% of the BTC; promised 20,000 won compensation to customers; reported by BBC, not an external theft. source

Regulator and court actions

• 2026-02 Financial Supervisory Service (South Korea): Regulator said at an emergency meeting it would look into the erroneous BTC credit and would open formal investigations on any sign of illegality. Outcome: Outcome not verified. PRESS OR OTHER SOURCE · official text not found source
• 2026-03 Financial Intelligence Unit (South Korea): FIU imposed a fine of KRW 36.8 billion (about USD 24m) for AML violations (about 6.65 million cases incl. inadequate KYC) and a six-month partial suspension limiting services for new users; CEO and reporting officer also received personal penalties (reported by Sumsub; The Block). Outcome: Bithumb filed an administrative lawsuit and stay request on 2026-03-23; Seoul Administrative Court stayed the suspension pending final ruling (reported by The Block). Final ruling not verified. PRESS OR OTHER SOURCE · official text not found source
• 2023-01-25 Seoul Southern District Prosecutor's Office (South Korea): Arrest warrant reported for Kang Jong-hyun, described as owner/chairman of Bithumb, over alleged embezzlement, breach of trust and fraud (reported by FinanceFeeds citing Infomax). Outcome: Outcome not verified. PRESS OR OTHER SOURCE · official text not found source
• 2024-01-18 Seoul High Court (South Korea): Appeal court upheld acquittal of Lee Jong-hoon, former Bithumb chairman, on fraud charges brought on an investor's complaint relating to 2018 acquisition talks (reported by ForkLog). Outcome: Acquitted for the second time. PRESS OR OTHER SOURCE · official text not found source

What we could not verify

Not verified: legal entity name, FIU VASP register, Italy acceptance, current fees, PoR, outcome of FSS review, FIU sanctions. Older incidents (hacks in 2017-2019, police raids 2018/2020) fall outside the 5-year window and were not re-checked. Web search budget exhausted. 2026-10-09 search: no hack found in the last 5 years beyond the Feb 2026 erroneous credit; FSS outcome and appeal of FIU sanction not verified.

Facts are as of 9 Oct 2026. We ran a limited number of searches per exchange, so an empty list is not proof that nothing happened. We did not check the Italian OAM register. Items from press or third parties are reports, not findings by an authority. If something here is wrong or out of date, send a correction with a source: corrections policy. Education only, not investment advice.

Sources

1. [1] ESMA CASP register CSV accessed 2026-10-09
2. [2] CoinGecko - Bithumb profile accessed 2026-10-09
3. [3] Bithumb public gateway (coin/market list) accessed 2026-10-09
4. [4] BBC - Bithumb accidentally pays out bitcoin (2026-02-07) accessed 2026-10-09
5. [5] Korea Times - Bithumb waives fees (2023-10) accessed 2026-10-09
6. [6] Bithumb Open API docs accessed 2026-10-09
7. [7] Wikipedia - Bithumb (history) accessed 2026-10-09
8. [8] Sumsub: Bithumb fined as South Korea tightens crypto oversight (2026-03-17) accessed 2026-10-09
9. [9] The Block: Korean court stays Bithumb six-month suspension accessed 2026-10-09
10. [10] FinanceFeeds: arrest warrant for Bithumb owner (2023-01-26) accessed 2026-10-09
11. [11] ForkLog: former Bithumb chairman acquitted again (2024-01-18) accessed 2026-10-09