Bithumb Pushes Back Stock Market Debut Beyond 2028: Sources
The South Korean crypto platform's chief financial officer stated the company is working to enhance its "accounting policies and internal controls" in preparation for a public offering that has already been postponed from its original 2025 target.
The cryptocurrency trading platform Bithumb, headquartered in South Korea, is now anticipating its stock market debut to take place beyond 2028, marking yet another postponement as the company navigates through corporate restructuring challenges and regulatory compliance issues.
Based on reporting published Tuesday by Maeil Business News Korea, a representative from Bithumb revealed the company plans to "focus on preparing for the listing until 2027." During the firm's yearly gathering of shareholders, Chief Financial Officer Jeong Sang-gyun explained that the exchange was working on "strengthen[ing] accounting policies and internal controls" after entering into an IPO advisory agreement with Samjong KPMG.
At the Tuesday shareholder assembly, investors voted to reconfirm Lee Jae-won as chief executive for another two-year term, though the pushed-back IPO schedule represents yet another setback after the platform had originally targeted a 2025 public debut. During Lee's leadership tenure, the trading platform encountered a six-month operational suspension along with a $24 million financial penalty imposed by regulators in South Korea for purported violations related to anti-money-laundering protocols.
The public listing of a prominent South Korean cryptocurrency exchange has the potential to significantly influence domestic financial markets and drive cryptocurrency adoption throughout the nation. The company Dunamu, which operates the crypto trading platform Upbit, is also reportedly preparing for an IPO following a planned share exchange transaction with Naver Financial, which is anticipated to occur in September.
In February, Bithumb attracted widespread attention when the platform inadvertently credited numerous users with approximately 2,000 Bitcoin (BTC) rather than the intended 2,000 South Korean won. This mistake temporarily generated internal account balances exceeding $40 billion in total, although the majority of these funds only existed within the platform's internal accounting ledger and were subsequently corrected and reversed.
Mixed signals in South Korea's crypto policy shift
South Korea's president Lee Jae-myung assumed office in June 2025, and members of his political party swiftly initiated efforts to bring forward legislative proposals addressing the issuance of payment stablecoins.
Members of the South Korean legislature had originally put forth a proposal to increase taxation on cryptocurrency-related gains, with implementation initially expected to begin in 2021. Nevertheless, this policy measure has encountered multiple postponements and could potentially be abandoned altogether, based on reports that emerged in March.
By March 2025, approximately 16 million individuals in South Korea maintained active accounts on cryptocurrency trading platforms.