Just-In: Bithumb Eyes 2028 IPO After Major Internal Overhaul and K-IFRS Shift

South Korea’s second-largest crypto exchange, Bithumb, has published a formal three-stage roadmap targeting a Bithumb IPO in 2028. In an official notice released on August 3, 2026, the exchange outlined plans to complete advanced internal controls in 2026, file for a preliminary listing review in 2027, and achieve a full public offering in 2028.

From $43B Ghost Bitcoin Chaos to a Public Listing Push

The announcement builds on a turbulent year for the exchange. In February 2026, a staff error during a promotional campaign sent 620,000 Bitcoin, worth roughly $43 billion, to 249 users who were owed just 620,000 Korean won in BTC.

The mistake temporarily crashed the local BTC price by around 17% and exposed critical gaps in Bithumb’s internal verification systems.

The exchange recovered 99.7% of the phantom balances, covered a 1,788 BTC shortfall from corporate reserves, and established a ₩100 billion ($68 million) Customer Protection Fund for affected traders.

South Korean regulators responded with fines and a partial business suspension, later stayed by court order, while an industry-wide operational overhaul followed.

The fallout accelerated the exchange’s push to rebuild credibility from the ground up, with Samjong KPMG brought on as an advisory partner through 2027.

This mirrors what ARK Invest Buys Crypto Stocks, institutions are increasingly pricing governance quality, not just revenue, when positioning themselves in digital asset companies.

The Bithumb IPO roadmap includes six pillars: transitioning from K-GAAP to K-IFRS (Korea-adopted International Financial Reporting Standards) and strengthening risk management to global listed-company standards.

The aim is to spin off Bithumb Asset to remove conflicts of interest, diversify revenue streams, improve public disclosures of financials and virtual-asset holdings, and collaborate with top securities firms, law firms, and auditors.

A Tighter Regulatory Climate Adds Pressure and Urgency

The timing of this IPO push is notable. South Korea’s Deputy Prime Minister Koo Yun-cheol confirmed on July 29, 2026, that a 22% crypto gains tax will take effect on January 1, 2027, with no further delays.

Investors earning more than KRW 2.5 million ($1,740) annually from crypto will fall under the levy.

Exchanges like Bithumb face new compliance burdens as a result and need to be South Korea’s Incoming Crypto Tax, which could reshape trading volumes across domestic platforms heading into 2027.

That pressure makes the IPO preparation a dual exercise: demonstrate governance strength to public markets while simultaneously navigating the most significant domestic regulatory shift in years.

For context on how Crypto Stocks to Watch are responding to similar institutional scrutiny globally, the dynamics at play in South Korea reflect a broader pattern where compliance depth is becoming a market differentiator.

Bithumb stated that the 2028 timeline remains flexible and may shift based on market conditions and the speed of regulatory reviews.

Should it complete the listing, the exchange would mark one of South Korea’s first major crypto-exchange IPOs, a benchmark moment for the sector’s institutionalization in Asia.

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