Bithumb Maps 2028 IPO After $43B Error, Regulatory Overhaul

Bithumb, South Korea's second-largest crypto exchange, has laid out a three-stage roadmap targeting a public listing in 2028. The plan, published August 3, calls for advanced internal controls this year, a preliminary listing review in 2027, and a full IPO in 2028.

The announcement follows a February incident where a staff error during a promotional campaign sent 620,000 Bitcoin – worth roughly $43 billion at the time – to 249 users who were owed just 620,000 Korean won in BTC. The mistake temporarily crashed the local BTC price by roughly 17% and exposed gaps in the exchange's verification systems.

Bithumb recovered 99.7% of the phantom balances, covered a 1,788 BTC shortfall from corporate reserves, and set up a ₩100 billion ($68 million) Customer Protection Fund for affected traders. South Korean regulators fined the exchange and issued a partial business suspension, later stayed by court order. Samjong KPMG was brought on as an advisory partner through 2027.