South Korea’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) has levied a substantial fine of 36.8 billion won ($24.6 million) against cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb, simultaneously ordering a six-month partial suspension of new-user services. This severe action follows the discovery of millions of anti-money laundering (AML) violations by the exchange, marking a significant step in the ongoing regulatory oversight of South Korea’s leading crypto platforms.

The FIU's comprehensive investigation uncovered approximately 6.65 million breaches of the nation’s AML and customer verification regulations. These violations included 3.55 million instances where Bithumb failed to properly verify customer identities and 3.04 million cases where transactions that should have been blocked were permitted to proceed. Furthermore, authorities identified 45,772 transactions conducted with 18 unregistered overseas exchanges, highlighting a systemic failure in compliance protocols.

Beyond the hefty financial penalty, the sanctions extend to Bithumb’s leadership, with a reprimand issued to the exchange's CEO and a six-month suspension for its reporting officer. While existing customers retain full trading capabilities, the restrictions specifically impact new user account activity, including new deposits and withdrawals. This enforcement action underscores the critical importance regulators place on strict adherence to customer verification and AML obligations to maintain trust within the market.

Bithumb, established in 2014, is one of South Korea’s largest exchanges by trading volume. The fine imposed represents the largest ever on a virtual asset exchange in the country, surpassing a 35.2 billion won penalty handed to Upbit in 2025. These violations were brought to light during on-site inspections conducted by the FIU across South Korea’s five largest crypto exchanges between 2024 and 2025, signaling a continued tightening of crypto market oversight.

Adding to Bithumb's regulatory woes, this announcement comes merely weeks after the exchange was involved in a major operational error, dubbed a “Bitcoin blunder.” During a promotional “Random Box” event intended to distribute small cash rewards ranging from 20,000 to 50,000 Korean won, staff reportedly entered the payment unit as Bitcoin instead of won. This critical mistake led to some users accidentally receiving at least 2,000 BTC each.

Based on Bitcoin prices near 98 million won per Bitcoin at the time, these accidental distributions were worth approximately 196 billion won per person, according to social media accounts and screenshots. The incident briefly caused Bitcoin prices on Bithumb’s platform to drop over 10% below broader market levels. Despite the scale of the error, Bithumb stated that the incident did not result in any customer losses. The FIU will finalize the fine after providing Bithumb a 10-day period to submit its official opinion, reinforcing the regulatory body's firm stance on compliance and operational integrity within the crypto sector.