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Bithumb Plans to Apply for IPO Listing
Continuous Senior Management Issues at Bithumb
According to the report by South Korean media “Edaily,” the South Korean exchange Bithumb is preparing for its initial public offering (IPO) and plans to list on the South Korean KOSDAQ exchange in the second half of 2025.
Bithumb declined to comment on the IPO news when approached, only acknowledging that they recently selected Samsung Securities as their collaborating underwriter, whose main task is to ensure the company’s financial condition before listing. It is said that Bithumb’s decision to go public is to prevent further loss of market share in the local South Korean market due to Upbit’s business growth.
Despite being the second-largest cryptocurrency exchange in South Korea in terms of daily trading volume, Bithumb lags far behind Upbit in terms of data. According to CMC data, Upbit’s trading volume in the past 24 hours is around $3.3 billion, while Bithumb’s trading volume is only $640 million.
Even though Bithumb plans to gain more development resources through going public, the continuous negative incidents involving senior management at the exchange may become a major obstacle for Bithumb.
Former Chairman of Bithumb, Lee Jung-hoon, was previously indicted by South Korean prosecutors for alleged fraud.
CEO Lee Seung-jun is currently under investigation by prosecutors for alleged bribery.
One of Bithumb’s largest shareholders (even suspected to be the true owner), Kim Jong-hee, was arrested in February this year for embezzlement.
Bithumb was under investigation by regulatory authorities in May this year due to its involvement in a cryptocurrency scandal with South Korean Democratic Party member Kim Nam-kuk.