Record Penalty: South Korea Fines Bithumb $24.6 Million Over AML Violations
South Korea's Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) has fined cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb 36.8 billion won ($24.6 million) and ordered a six-month partial suspension of new-user services after uncovering millions of anti-money laundering (AML) violations, according to local reporting. The FIU's investigation found roughly 6.65 million breaches of the country's AML and customer verification rules. About 3.55 million involved failures to verify customer identities, while 3.04 million cases concerned transactions that should have been blocked but were allowed. Authorities also identified 45,772 transactions with 18 unregistered overseas exchanges.
The sanctions, part of ongoing regulatory oversight of South Korea's top crypto platforms, include a reprimand for Bithumb's CEO and a six-month suspension for the exchange's reporting officer. Existing customers can continue trading, while the restrictions primarily affect new user account activity, including deposits and withdrawals. Bithumb, founded in 2014, is one of South Korea's largest exchanges by trading volume. The fine is the country's largest imposed on a virtual asset exchange, slightly surpassing a 35.2 billion won penalty handed to Upbit in 2025.
Scope and Impact of the Penalty
The violations were uncovered during on-site inspections of South Korea's five largest crypto exchanges between 2024 and 2025. Regulators have emphasized that strict compliance with customer verification and AML obligations is critical to maintaining market trust. The FIU will finalize the fine after giving Bithumb at least 10 days to submit its opinion. Authorities said the enforcement action signals continued tightening of crypto market oversight in South Korea.
Bithumb's Bitcoin Blunder
The announcement comes just weeks after Bithumb accidentally sent billions of dollars worth of Bitcoin to users during a promotional event. The exchange had planned to distribute small cash rewards through a “Random Box” event at around 6 p.m. local time. Winners were supposed to receive between 20,000 and 50,000 Korean won. Instead, staff reportedly entered the payment unit as Bitcoin rather than won. As a result, some users received at least 2,000 BTC each, worth roughly 196 billion won per person based on prices near 98 million won per Bitcoin at the time, according to social media screenshots and accounts. The operational error briefly caused Bitcoin prices on the platform to drop over 10% below broader market levels. Bithumb stated the incident did not result in any customer losses.
At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading near $74,000.