Bithumb, one of South Korea's largest cryptocurrency exchanges, has been fined 36.8 billion won ($24.6 million) and hit with a six-month partial suspension by the country's Financial Intelligence Unit.
The penalties follow approximately 6.65 million violations of anti-money laundering rules, including 3.55 million failures in customer identity verification and 3.04 million instances of failing to block restricted transactions.
The suspension applies only to services for new users. Existing customers can still trade and withdraw funds. Bithumb’s CEO received a reprimand, and its reporting officer was suspended for six months.
The violations were uncovered during 2024-2025 inspections of South Korea’s top five crypto platforms. Regulators have intensified scrutiny, previously penalizing Upbit’s operator Dunamu and rival exchange Korbit.