The number that defines the case is 6.65 million — that is how many Anti-Money Laundering violations South Korean regulators found when they inspected Bithumb, the country’s crypto exchange. Not hundreds. Not thousands. Millions of individual compliance failures, catalogued and counted before authorities decided what to do about them.
What they decided: a fine of 36.8 billion won (roughly $24.5 million) and a six-month partial business suspension running from March 27 to September 26, according to a Yonhap News Agency report. The fine is the largest ever imposed on a South Korean crypto exchange.
The Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), operating under the Financial Services Commission, reached the decision after a sanctions deliberation committee reviewed Bithumb‘s compliance with the Act on Reporting and Use of Specific Financial Transaction Information. The violations fell across three categories: failures in customer identity verification, transaction restrictions, and record-keeping requirements.
Buried inside the broader tally was a more specific finding. Regulators identified 45,772 crypto transfers that Bithumb processed on behalf of 18 unregistered overseas virtual asset service providers — transactions that South Korean AML rules explicitly prohibit. The FIU says it warned the exchange repeatedly to stop dealing with those unregistered firms. The exchange, according to the regulator, failed to comply and could not put effective blocking measures in place.
The FIU issued a preliminary notice of suspension on March 9, signaling its intent before the final sanctions were confirmed.
What the suspension actually restricts
The partial ban is narrower than it sounds. For the next six months, Bithumb cannot process external crypto transfers for new customers. Existing users face no trading restrictions at all. New customers can still buy and sell crypto and move Korean won in and out of the exchange — they simply cannot send or receive crypto externally during the suspension period.
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A pattern across the industry
The action against Bithumb is not a standalone event. In February 2025, the FIU imposed a three-month restriction on crypto deposits and withdrawals for new customers at Upbit, also over dealings with unregistered overseas VASPs. That penalty included a fine of 35.2 billion won (approximately $23.5 million).
The enforcement sweep then reached Korbit. In December 2025, regulators handed that exchange a 2.73 billion won (about $1.8 million) fine and an institutional warning for AML and customer-verification breaches.
Three exchanges. Three separate actions. A fine structure that scales with the severity of what regulators find — from $1.8 million at the low end to $24.5 million at the top.
Disclaimer: The information provided in this article is for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or investment advice.
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