Bithumb, South Korea’s second-largest crypto exchange, has been notified by the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) of a six-month partial business suspension due to alleged violations of anti-money laundering (AML) and know-your-customer (KYC) regulations under the Special Financial Transactions Act. This suspension primarily affects new users’ ability to transfer crypto, while existing users can continue their transactions uninterrupted. The FIU’s decision follows a similar crackdown on other exchanges, highlighting a regulatory push to enforce compliance in the digital asset sector as part of its 2026 anti-money laundering strategy.
Bithumb: Bithumb is South Korea’s second-largest cryptocurrency exchange, offering trading services for various digital assets to local users. It recently encountered a major system glitch that erroneously credited users with Bitcoin it did not hold, exposing internal control weaknesses and prompting regulatory probes. In this news, Bithumb received preliminary notification from the FIU of a six-month partial business suspension targeting new users’ crypto transfers due to alleged AML and KYC violations under the Special Financial Transactions Act.
Financial Intelligence Unit: The Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) is South Korea’s regulatory body under the Financial Services Commission tasked with preventing money laundering and ensuring compliance in financial transactions, including virtual assets. It recently outlined its 2026 AML strategy with a focus on heightened oversight of digital asset risks such as stablecoins and account freezes. Here, the FIU has issued a preliminary sanction notice to Bithumb for shortcomings in AML obligations and customer verification practices.
`json
{
“Ongoing Reviews”: “FIU plans sanction deliberations for other exchanges like Coinone and Gopax following similar compliance probes.”,
“Prior Enforcement”: “FIU imposed penalties on Upbit’s operator Dunamu and Korbit for AML and KYC lapses during previous inspections.”
}
`
Source: WuBlockchain
