Media reports on Bithumb’s plan to list on the local stock exchange

The South Korea-based Bitcoin exchange Bithumb will list on the local stock market. An IPO on KOSDAQ is planned for the second half of 2025, according to Edaily.

Samsung Securities is expected to serve as the potential underwriter.

Representatives of the trading platform declined to acknowledge preparations for a public listing, but conceded that the information about the partner selected to implement the initiative may be accurate.

Sources explained that the company’s IPO plans are aimed at maintaining its position in the race with Upbit for supremacy in the local cryptocurrency market.

In May, the South Koreanconducted searches and asset seizures at the offices of competitors in connection with the investigation suspicious transactions involving National Assembly member Kim Nam-kuk.

In September 2020, law enforcement officers summoned for questioning the then-CEO of Bithumb and beneficiary of Bithumb Holdings, Lee Jung-hoon. At the same time, police conducted a series of searches at offices of companies linked to the exchange as part of the case of alleged fraud in the $25 million BXA token sale.

According to press reports, Hoon was regarded as the real owner of the exchange. He faced up to eight years in prison on charges of deceiving investors. However, he was later acquitted.

Early in 2023, ForkLog reported that the National Tax Service of South Korea was investigating possible tax violations by Bithumb Korea, Bithumb Holdings and other affiliated entities.

Earlier, in January the Seoul Southern District Prosecutor’s Office raided the exchange’s offices in a case of price manipulation of an unnamed coin.

Authorities also issued an arrest warrant for the owner of the company Kan Jeon-Hun, suspected of embezzlement and stock manipulation involving affiliated firms.