Bithumb Wins Temporary Lifeline as Court Halts Six-Month Ban

A South Korean court has temporarily halted the six-month partial business suspension imposed on crypto exchange Bithumb, offering relief to the platform as it challenges regulatory action.

The Seoul Administrative Court’s Second Administrative Division, led by Judge Gong Hyeon-jin, approved Bithumb’s request for a stay of execution on the same day it was filed, and has effectively paused the sanction until a final court decision is reached.

Regulatory Crackdown Paused

The suspension had been ordered in March by the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), which also levied a fine of 36.8 billion won ($24.6 million), although it remains unclear whether the financial penalty is included in the suspension.

Authorities had accused Bithumb of committing approximately 6.65 million violations of South Korea’s financial regulations, particularly under the Act on Reporting and Using Specified Financial Transaction Information. These included millions of failures related to customer identity verification and lapses in blocking transactions that should have been restricted.

Apart from the company penalties, authorities had then warned Bithumb’s chief executive and handed a six-month suspension to its reporting officer. The issues came to light during inspections of South Korea’s top five crypto exchanges, Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit, and Gopax, carried out between 2024 and 2025.

The disciplinary measure would have restricted new users from depositing or withdrawing digital assets. The enforcement had already been delayed after Bithumb filed both an administrative lawsuit and a stay request shortly before the penalty was due to take effect.

Promotion Mishap

Separately, Bithumb is facing another legal matter linked to a payout error earlier this year. In April, the exchange had asked the court to freeze 7 BTC that had not been returned after it mistakenly distributed Bitcoin instead of Korean won during a February promotional event. The blunder happened when Bithumb planned to send a total of 620,000 won to 249 users, but due to an input error, it processed the payments in BTC, which briefly resulted in an unusually large transfer before it was reversed within minutes.

Most of the funds were later recovered after the exchange reached out to recipients, but a small group refused to return the remaining assets, which led Bithumb to pursue a provisional seizure. This legal measure allows assets to be temporarily locked before a formal civil lawsuit is filed.

Some users have argued they are not obligated to return the funds since the error came from the exchange. However, legal experts cited in local reports say the case falls under unjust enrichment, meaning recipients must return assets received by mistake.

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