A South Korean court has temporarily suspended the six-month partial business suspension imposed on cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb, providing immediate relief while the platform contests the regulatory action.
The Seoul Administrative Court’s Second Administrative Division, presided over by Judge Gong Hyeon-jin, granted Bithumb’s request for a stay of execution on the same day it was filed, effectively pausing enforcement of the sanction until a final ruling is issued.
Regulatory Crackdown Paused
The suspension was ordered in March by the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), which also imposed a fine of 36.8 billion won (approximately $24.6 million). It is not yet clear whether the financial penalty is covered by the court’s temporary halt.
Authorities accused Bithumb of roughly 6.65 million violations of South Korea’s financial regulations, particularly under the Act on Reporting and Using Specified Financial Transaction Information. The alleged infractions include millions of failures in customer identity verification and shortcomings in blocking transactions that should have been restricted.
In addition to company-level penalties, regulators warned Bithumb’s CEO and handed a six-month suspension to a reporting officer. The issues were identified during inspections of South Korea’s five largest crypto exchanges—Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit, and Gopax—conducted between 2024 and 2025.
The disciplinary measure would have prevented new users from depositing or withdrawing digital assets. Enforcement had already been delayed after Bithumb filed an administrative lawsuit and requested a stay shortly before the penalty was scheduled to take effect.
Promotion Mishap
Separately, Bithumb faces another legal dispute stemming from a payout error earlier this year. In February, during a promotional event, the exchange intended to transfer 620,000 won total to 249 users but mistakenly sent funds in Bitcoin due to an input error. The erroneous Bitcoin transfers were reversed within minutes, and most of the funds were recovered after the exchange contacted recipients.
However, a small number of recipients declined to return the mistakenly sent Bitcoin. In April, Bithumb asked the court to freeze 7 BTC that were not returned, seeking provisional seizure to temporarily lock those assets ahead of a formal civil lawsuit. This measure is commonly used to preserve assets while legal claims proceed.
Some recipients argued they were not obligated to return the funds because the mistake originated with the exchange. Legal experts cited in local coverage counter that the situation likely falls under the principle of unjust enrichment, which typically requires recipients to return assets mistakenly received.
With the administrative suspension on hold, Bithumb will remain operative while the courts consider both the appeal against the FIU’s sanction and the separate recovery actions tied to the promotion error. The temporary reprieve gives the exchange time to prepare its legal defenses and for the court to assess whether the FIU’s penalties were appropriate and lawfully applied.