Bithumb Seeks CEO Reappointment Amid Regulatory Penalties

By WSN Editorial TeamTech ReporterMarch 23, 20263 min readUpdated 49 hours ago

Bithumb, the second-largest crypto exchange in South Korea, faces scrutiny as it pushes for CEO reappointment amid regulatory issues.

South Korea's Bithumb exchange is seeking to reappoint CEO Lee Jae-won for another two-year term, with a shareholders' meeting scheduled for March 31 to vote on the proposal. His current term ends at the end of March, according to reports from the Korea Times.

Regulatory Penalties Against Bithumb

In March, South Korea’s Financial Intelligence Unit imposed a six-month partial suspension on Bithumb for alleged anti-money laundering failures, along with a fine of 36.8 billion won, equivalent to $24.2 million. The suspension bars the exchange from processing external crypto transfers for new customers from March 27 to September 26.

Bithumb also faced issues in February when it accidentally credited users with 2,000 Bitcoin each instead of 2,000 Korean won during a promotional event, resulting in the distribution of 620,000 Bitcoin that the exchange could not fully back.

The exchange is currently under investigation for sharing its order book with an overseas platform, which could lead to additional penalties and affect its ability to renew its virtual asset service provider license, as noted by industry sources cited in the Korea Times.

As South Korea's second-largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, Bithumb trails only Upbit, according to data from CoinGecko. The crypto sector in the country has seen growth, with over 16 million users as of late last year, representing more than 30% of the population.

The broader crypto industry in South Korea is expanding, with projections estimating market revenue could reach $1.3 billion by 2026, amid supportive government policies including efforts to legalize stablecoins.