VASPCheck

VASP Compliance Summary — Bithumb

Bithumb Korea Co., Ltd. · Exchange · South Korea

Exported 2026-08-25

Data reviewed 2026-08-05

Overview

Compliance snapshot

Overall regulatory statusRegistered

EU MiCA statusNo EU authorization

KoFIU VASP registration with real-name bank accounts (NH Bank)
Activity effectively limited to the Korean market and KRW pairs
Trustpilot 3.2/5 · 640 reviews
Historic hot-wallet thefts in 2017–2019, reimbursed by the operator

Medium concern

Domestically registered with the Korean FIU and real-name banking, but single-market exposure, a governance history and past security incidents keep the profile above the lowest band.

Authorizations

Licenses & registrations

Jurisdiction	Regulator	Authorization	Status	Reference	Granted
South Korea	Korea Financial Intelligence Unit KoFIU · https://www.kofiu.go.kr	VASP registration (real-name accounts)	Registered	KOFIU-2021-0011	2021-09-24

Reputation

Reputation scores

Trustpilot-style score3.2 / 5

Reviews640

App Store4.2

Google Play3.9

12-month trendflat

Press sentiment (12m)+4 / ~3 / −3

Media

Recent press

Date	Source	Headline & summary	Sentiment
2026-07-14	Reuters	Bithumb prepares domestic listing The operator confirmed preparations for a KOSDAQ listing.	Positive
2026-04-29	Bloomberg	Korean exchanges tighten listing reviews A joint framework for token listing screens took effect.	Neutral
2026-01-22	CoinDesk	Bithumb widens institutional services Custody and reporting services for domestic institutions were expanded.	Positive
2025-10-06	Financial Times	Ownership structure questioned again Reporting revisited long-running questions on beneficial ownership.	Negative
2025-06-17	Reuters	Real-name banking partnership renewed The exchange renewed its settlement agreement with its partner bank.	Positive

Risk events

Incidents & enforcement

Date	Type	Amount	Description
2019-03-29	Hack	USD 13,000,000	Insider-linked theft from hot wallets; the operator reimbursed affected balances.
2018-06-19	Hack	USD 31,000,000	Hot-wallet theft covered from corporate reserves.

Profile

Key facts

Founded2014

Websitebithumb.com

Fiat currenciesKRW

Proof of reservesPartial

Custody modelIn-house cold storage with real-name bank settlement

Legal entitiesBithumb Korea Co., Ltd. (KR)

Bithumb

RegisteredNo EU authorizationESMA register

Bithumb Korea Co., Ltd.

Exchange🇰🇷 South Korea Founded 2014bithumb.com

Visit website

Last reviewed

2026-08-05

Compliance snapshot

KoFIU VASP registration with real-name bank accounts (NH Bank)
Activity effectively limited to the Korean market and KRW pairs
Trustpilot 3.2/5 · 640 reviews
Historic hot-wallet thefts in 2017–2019, reimbursed by the operator

Overall concern

Medium concern

Domestically registered with the Korean FIU and real-name banking, but single-market exposure, a governance history and past security incidents keep the profile above the lowest band.

Regulatory

Licenses & registrations

Jurisdiction	Regulator	Authorization	Status	Reference	Granted
🇰🇷 South Korea	Korea Financial Intelligence UnitKoFIU	VASP registration (real-name accounts)	Registered	KOFIU-2021-0011	2021-09-24

🇰🇷 South Korea
Registered
VASP registration (real-name accounts)
Korea Financial Intelligence UnitKoFIU
KOFIU-2021-00112021-09-24
Verify at source

User signals

Reputation

Trustpilot-style score

3.2/ 5

3.2

640 reviews

Stable (12m)

App ratings

App Store: 4.2
Google Play: 3.9

Press sentiment (12m)

Positive4

Neutral3

Negative3

Media

Recent press

2026-07-14
Bithumb prepares domestic listingPositive
Reuters — The operator confirmed preparations for a KOSDAQ listing.
2026-04-29
Korean exchanges tighten listing reviewsNeutral
Bloomberg — A joint framework for token listing screens took effect.
2026-01-22
Bithumb widens institutional servicesPositive
CoinDesk — Custody and reporting services for domestic institutions were expanded.
2025-10-06
Ownership structure questioned againNegative
Financial Times — Reporting revisited long-running questions on beneficial ownership.
2025-06-17
Real-name banking partnership renewedPositive
Reuters — The exchange renewed its settlement agreement with its partner bank.

History

Incidents & enforcement

2019-03-29HackUSD 13,000,000
Insider-linked theft from hot wallets; the operator reimbursed affected balances.
2018-06-19HackUSD 31,000,000
Hot-wallet theft covered from corporate reserves.