Bithumb’s IPO now likely in 2028 after $43B mishap

South Korea’s cryptocurrency exchange, Bithumb, has officially pushed back its long‑awaited initial public offering (IPO) to sometime after 2028, marking yet another delay in plans that were originally aiming for a 2025 listing. This development comes after a mishap worth $43 billion.

The announcement came during the company’s annual shareholders meeting in Seoul. CFO Jeong Sang-gyun said the company continues to prepare for its IPO and has signed an advisory deal with Samjong KPMG.

Bithumb delays its IPO to fix internal systems and rules.

Bithumb is one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in South Korea, so users were excited when the company first announced plans to list on the stock market in 2025. However, the exchange later pushed the IPO to 2027, but now they say it will likely happen after 2028. 

Contrary to rumors of its failure, the company earned about 651 billion won ($430 million) in 2025, specifically 163.5 billion won ($108 million) after deducting sorting operation costs. Similarly, the recorded net profit was 78 billion won ($51.5 million), and the company even increased its market share to above 30%.

Moreover, Bithumb added about 1.74 million new subscribers and made major changes, including switching bank partners from NH Nonghyup Bank to KB Kookmin Bank, which has the largest customer base in South Korea.

Even though Bithumb is financially strong, the company still wants to work on its accounting policies, internal controls, and other rules to create a safe environment for public investors. It even signed a contract with Samjong KPMG to help Bithumb prepare for its 2028 IPO and ensure it avoids mistakes before listing on the stock market.

The delay could also mean the company wants to maximize its value and attract the highest possible price and the strongest market reputation when it finally goes public. 

Similarly, the IPO postponement stems from internal reviews following a $43 billion Bitcoin mispayment earlier this year, so the company must work to improve its systems. 

Bitcoin mistake and regulator actions slow listing plans.

During a promotional campaign in 2026, a Bithumb staff member accidentally sent excess BTC to users beyond the amount the company had in its reserve. The staff sent about 620,000 Bitcoin ($43 billion) instead of 620,000 won worth of BTC, while the company only held about 46,000 BTC in total. 

This mistake lowered BTC price on Bithumb by 15%, and even though the company recovered 99.7% of the funds, many users had already panicked after the sudden drop and sold off their BTC. The company then later recovered 93% of the Bitcoin sold.

However, Bithumb still couldn’t recover about 125 BTC and has promised to compensate everyone who suffered losses with around 110% to try to restore trust and in a show of responsibility.

Bithumb established a special task force to review transactions, assess the approval process, and ensure that no employee can make large transactions without confirmation. The company also set up a user protection fund worth 100 billion won ($68 million) to compensate users in the event of a similar incident in the future. 

The Financial Supervisory Service learned of the incident and launched a full investigation into Bithumb, focusing on the company’s internal controls and risk management. Regulators wanted to know whether the company holds the same amount of virtual assets as users deposit, as required by the Virtual Asset User Protection Act.

Regulators also checked Bithumb’s systems to see how the ledger works and monitor the system that tracks deposits and trades. Furthermore, they checked the approval process for large transactions because the fact that an employee could send hundreds of thousands of BTC at once was a serious problem.

Finally, the regulator fined Bithumb about 36 billion won (roughly $27 million) and temporarily suspended some of its services. Bithumb is considering challenging the fines in court, but the company cannot go public at the moment due to these regulatory issues. 

Similarly, Bithumb is now implementing reforms to ensure compliance with upcoming digital asset laws in South Korea and to avoid further delaying the IPO.

The company has also made plans to partner with other companies to diversify its revenue and reduce its dependence on commission income, which accounts for almost 98% of its current income.

Bithumb wants to ensure that no weaknesses remain by the time they go public, and that Bitcoin mispayment was a big wake-up call that shows even the biggest and strongest companies in the market can make mistakes.

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