South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb has officially unveiled a roadmap for preparing for an initial public offering (IPO), setting a target date for listing on the stock exchange in 2028. According to the company's statement, in 2026, the platform will focus on strengthening internal controls and switching from Korean Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (K-GAAP) to Korean International Financial Reporting Standards (K-IFRS). In 2027, the exchange plans to apply for a preliminary listing review and undergo a comprehensive review by local regulatory authorities. The management of Bithumb emphasizes that it builds a risk management system in strict accordance with the requirements for public companies, involving one of the leading South Korean auditing firms for this purpose.

In preparation for the placement, the company conducted a large-scale business restructuring aimed at a clear division of responsibilities between departments, simplifying the corporate structure and minimizing the risks of conflict of interest. The platform also intends to diversify its business model in order to reduce its critical dependence on trading fees and increase the volume of liquid assets to maintain long-term financial stability. It is worth noting that the IPO process has been discussed for several years: initially, in 2023, Bithumb selected Samsung Securities as the main underwriter and planned to list on the KOSDAQ stock exchange in the second half of 2025. However, the dates have been postponed several times, and according to the Maeil Business Newspaper, the actual placement is likely to take place no earlier than 2028, as by the end of 2027 the company will focus on internal training and cooperation with the consulting firm Samjong KPMG.

The need for such careful preparation is dictated by a number of incidents that have attracted the close attention of regulators. In early 2026, the South Korean Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) initiated a review of Bithumb's internal controls after a critical glitch during a promotion when, due to an employee error, users were mistakenly credited with about 620,000 BTC instead of Korean won. Since the actual reserves of the exchange at that time were only about 46,000 BTC, the cryptocurrency exchange rate on the platform temporarily collapsed by 15%. Although the representatives of the exchange managed to return 99.7% of the mistakenly distributed assets, it was not possible to restore access to about 125 BTC. Additionally, in June, the Commission for the Protection of Personal Information (PIPC) ordered the company to pay a fine of 210 million won (about $136.0 thousand at the then exchange rate) for illegally transferring user data to foreign organizations without their consent, which further underscores the importance of implementing impeccable compliance procedures.