What Bithumb does

Bithumb (Bithumb Co., Ltd., 주식회사 빗썸) is South Korea's second-largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, headquartered in Samwon Tower, Gangnam-gu, Seoul. Founded in 2015 and operating with 101-250 employees, the platform serves Korean retail crypto investors — a segment in which nearly one-third of the country's population holds accounts at major domestic exchanges — alongside institutional and corporate clients via the Bithumb BIZ sub-brand. The platform lists more than 50 tradable tokens across BTC, ETH, XRP, USDT, SOL and emerging sectors (AI, DeFi, meme coins, RWA, DePIN, gaming, payments) and supports KRW- and BTC-denominated spot markets with 24/7 customer support via phone, KakaoTalk, web, and mobile apps (iOS/Android).

The company's product surface extends well beyond core spot trading. It includes an AI Trade Kit (automated trading bots, portfolio ordering, arbitrage bot, Lending Plus coin lending, staking), a B-point loyalty/rewards program, VIP Matching Program, and a public Open API for developer integrations. Banking integration is provided exclusively through KB Kookmin Bank for KRW fiat on/off-ramp, and the platform is supported by an extensive certification stack: ISMS-P (valid through Dec 2028) and ISO/IEC 27001:2022, 27017:2015, 27018:2019, 27701:2019, and 22301:2019. Bithumb holds an estimated ~24.8%-30% market share among South Korea's five won-denominated exchanges and is recognized as the country's No.1 virtual asset platform by brand recognition (per the Korean Corporate Reputation Research Institute, Feb-Jul 2025).

Bithumb's revenue model is transaction-fee based, charging maker/taker fees on spot trades with a tiered membership program claiming the lowest domestic fee tier, supplemented by fee coupons and B-point rebates. The company is privately held and led by CEO Lee Jae-won. In 2026, Bithumb has faced severe operational and regulatory shocks — including a mistaken distribution of ~620,000 BTC during a promotional event, a 36.8 billion won (~US$24.5-28M) fine and threatened six-month partial suspension for AML violations (~6.65 million compliance violations), a 210 million won data-protection fine, and an ongoing CEO bribery investigation — though a Seoul Administrative Court stay has allowed continued operations. Strategic positioning has nonetheless pivoted toward international expansion via an MOU with Vietnam's SSI Digital and a stablecoin-infrastructure partnership with Circle, while the planned IPO has been pushed beyond 2028.

Name

Bithumb

Legal name

주식회사 빗썸 (Bithumb Co., Ltd.)

Website

https://www.bithumb.com/

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Bithumb (Bithumb Co., Ltd., 주식회사 빗썸) is South Korea's second-largest cryptocurrency exchange, operating spot trading in KRW and BTC markets with ~24.8%-30% domestic market share and serving Korean retail and institutional crypto investors through its website, mobile apps, and Bithumb BIZ corporate services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cryptocurrency Exchange

NAICS

Securities and Commodity Exchanges (52321), Financial Transactions Processing, Reserve, and Clearinghouse Activities (522320)

SIC

Security & Commodity Brokers, Dealers, Exchanges & Services (6200), Finance Services (6199)

akta.pro primary industry

Settlement, Reconciliation & Merchant Treasury Tools (Crypto) (FSADAIAK)

Keywords

• Cryptocurrency exchange
• Virtual asset trading
• Spot trading platform
• Crypto lending services
• Blockchain financial services

Headquarters

HQ city

Seoul

HQ country

South Korea

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Trading transaction fees: Bithumb charges trading fees on cryptocurrency spot transactions (maker/taker fees), with a membership tier offering the lowest domestic fees. Revenue is generated as a percentage of transaction value from both retail and institutional users trading BTC, ETH, XRP, USDT, and other virtual assets on the KRW market platform.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Bithumb is a South Korea-based cryptocurrency exchange platform that operates spot trading across KRW and BTC markets for 100+ virtual assets. It provides complementary financial services including AI-powered automated trading (AI Trade Kit, Auto Trading Bot, Arbitrage Bot), crypto lending (Lending Plus), staking, and a tiered membership fee-discount program. The platform serves Korean retail and institutional investors through a web portal (bithumb.com), iOS/Android mobile apps, an Open API, and a corporate services division (Bithumb BIZ).

Product overview

Bithumb operates as a comprehensive cryptocurrency exchange platform offering a unified trading infrastructure with multiple integrated modules and services. The core platform provides spot trading across KRW and BTC markets with over 50+ tradable tokens spanning AI, DeFi, gaming, RWA, meme coins, and payment sectors. Supporting the core exchange are AI-powered tools (AI Trade Kit, Auto Trading, Arbitrage Bot), financial services (Lending Plus, Staking, Portfolio Order), and customer engagement features (B-point rewards, VIP Matching, Bithumb Lounge). The platform also provides institutional services through Bithumb Biz and developer access via Open API. The company serves retail and institutional users through web and mobile applications, with banking integration through KB Kookmin Bank for KRW transactions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Bithumb Exchange (Core Trading Platform) South Korea's second-largest cryptocurrency exchange, offering spot trading with KRW and BTC markets supporting 100+ tokens across DeFi, AI, meme coins, RWA, DePIN, gaming, and payment sectors. Targeted at South Korean retail and institutional crypto investors.
• AI Trade Kit (AI 트레이드 킷) AI-powered trading toolkit enabling automated trading strategies, portfolio-based purchasing, lending plus, staking, and intelligent order execution. Targeted at active Bithumb retail traders seeking algorithmic and AI-assisted execution.
• Lending Plus (코인대여/렌딩플러스) Coin lending service allowing users to lend their cryptocurrency holdings to earn interest returns. Targeted at Bithumb account holders seeking yield on idle virtual assets.
• Staking (코인 이자받기/스테이킹) Staking service enabling users to earn rewards by holding supported cryptocurrencies in on-platform staking programs. Targeted at Bithumb users seeking passive yield on holdings.
• Arbitrage Bot (자동매매/봇) Automated trading bot for executing arbitrage strategies across different markets or trading pairs on Bithumb. Targeted at advanced retail traders seeking systematic execution.
• Auto Trading (오토 트레이딩) Automated trading functionality allowing users to set predefined rules for automatic trade execution on Bithumb. Targeted at retail users who want systematic, rule-based execution without manual monitoring.
• B-point (포인트) Loyalty Program Loyalty and rewards program offering points, event coupons, and membership benefits such as event coupons, gift voucher gifting, ranking tournaments, and referrals to active Bithumb users.
• VIP Matching Program (VIP 매칭 프로그램) Program connecting VIP traders with personalized services and exclusive trading opportunities on Bithumb. Targeted at high-volume retail and professional traders seeking premium service and lowest-tier fees.
• Open API Public API enabling developers to build trading applications, bots, and custom integrations with the Bithumb exchange platform. Targeted at third-party developers, quantitative traders, and partner services.
• Bithumb BIZ (빗썸 법인서비스) Institutional and corporate services division offering business-focused digital asset solutions, including corporate account management and institutional trading solutions. Targeted at South Korean institutional and corporate clients.
• Mobile App (iOS / Android) iOS and Android mobile applications enabling cryptocurrency trading, portfolio management, and notifications on Bithumb. Targeted at retail users trading on mobile devices in South Korea.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

AI capability2 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.

• CirclecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 13 April 2026Bithumb signed a memorandum of understanding with Circle (USDC stablecoin issuer) to explore collaboration on digital asset infrastructure and stablecoin technology. The agreement was signed during Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire's visit to Bithumb's Seoul headquarters and includes joint review of multichain capabilities integration and stablecoin infrastructure support on the Bithumb platform. Both companies stated the partnership aims to foster a more transparent and regulation-friendly digital-asset market in Korea.
• SSI Digital (SSID)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 2 March 2026Bithumb signed an MOU with SSID (SSI Digital), the digital asset subsidiary of Vietnam's largest securities firm SSI Securities Corporation, to jointly develop and operate a digital asset exchange in Vietnam. The partnership covers exchange technology infrastructure, digital wallet and custody systems, cybersecurity, legal compliance, and operational expertise transfer. Bithumb may make a strategic equity investment in the venture subject to Vietnamese regulatory approval. The MOU was signed in Hanoi on March 2, 2026 and publicly announced in early May 2026.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Upbit: South Korea's largest won-denominated cryptocurrency exchange and Bithumb's primary direct competitor. Both target Korean retail traders with KRW pairs, KB-bank partnerships, and overlapping product suites (spot, staking, lending).
• Coinone: One of the 'big four' Korean won-denominated exchanges competing with Bithumb for retail traders under the same Virtual Asset User Protection Act regulatory regime.
• Korbit: One of Korea's original 'big four' crypto exchanges, offering KRW spot trading and corporate services comparable to Bithumb's retail and Bithumb BIZ offerings.
• Gopax: South Korean won-denominated exchange, part of the five major licensed Korean exchanges alongside Bithumb; competes for retail traders under the same Korean regulatory framework.

Broad incumbents

• Coinbase: US-listed global cryptocurrency exchange with spot trading, staking, lending, and institutional services overlapping Bithumb's product stack; broader geographic reach but similar exchange/treasury business model.
• Binance: World's largest crypto exchange by volume; offers spot, derivatives, staking, lending, and Launchpad that overlap with Bithumb's retail and product roadmap, though at significantly larger global scale.
• OKX: Global cryptocurrency exchange with spot trading, staking, lending, and on-chain wallet infrastructure comparable to Bithumb's exchange and crypto-asset service offerings.
• HTX (formerly Huobi): Asia-Pacific-focused global crypto exchange with spot, derivatives, and earn products comparable to Bithumb's retail trading and staking services.
• Kraken: Established global cryptocurrency exchange offering spot trading, staking, and OTC services that overlap with Bithumb's exchange, staking, and Bithumb BIZ institutional offerings.

Others

• Circle: USDC stablecoin issuer and Bithumb's MOU partner for stablecoin and digital-asset infrastructure; comparable as a US-regulated crypto infrastructure player serving exchanges and corporate treasury clients.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/bithumbofficial
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCh2nkYoiq6hae8ePxaZUgkw
• Facebookfacebook.com/bithumb
• Instagraminstagram.com/bithumb_official

Compliance6 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds4 records

Investors6 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A2 records

Investments6 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Bithumb