Bithumb’s IPO now likely in 2028 after $43B mishap
South Korea’s cryptocurrency exchange, Bithumb, has officially pushed back its long‑awaited initial public offering (IPO) to sometime after 2028, marking yet another delay in plans that were originally aiming for a 2025 listing. This development comes after a mishap worth $43 billion.
The announcement came during the company’s annual shareholders meeting in Seoul. CFO Jeong Sang-gyun said the company continues to prepare for its IPO and has signed an advisory deal with Samjong KPMG.
Bithumb delays its IPO to fix internal systems and rules.
Bithumb is one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in South Korea, so users were excited when the company first announced plans to list on the stock market in 2025. However, the exchange later pushed the IPO to 2027, but now they say it will likely happen after 2028.
Contrary to rumors of its failure, the company earned about 651 billion won ($430 million) in 2025, specifically 163.5 billion won ($108 million) after deducting sorting operation costs. Similarly, the recorded net profit was 78 billion won ($51.5 million), and the company even increased its market share to above 30%.
Moreover, Bithumb added about 1.74 million new subscribers and made major changes, including switching bank partners from NH Nonghyup Bank to KB Kookmin Bank, which has the largest customer base in South Korea.
Even though Bithumb is financially strong, the company still wants to work on its accounting policies, internal controls, and other rules to create a safe environment for public investors. It even signed a contract with Samjong KPMG to help Bithumb prepare for its 2028 IPO and ensure it avoids mistakes before listing on the stock market.
The delay could also mean the company wants to maximize its value and attract the highest possible price and the strongest market reputation when it finally goes public.
Similarly, the IPO postponement stems from internal reviews following a $43 billion Bitcoin mispayment earlier this year, so the company must work to improve its systems.
Bitcoin mistake and regulator actions slow listing plans.
During a promotional campaign in 2026, a Bithumb staff member accidentally sent excess BTC to users beyond the amount the company had in its reserve. The staff sent about 620,000 Bitcoin ($43 billion) instead of 620,000 won worth of BTC, while the company only held about 46,000 BTC in total.
This mistake lowered BTC price on Bithumb by 15%, and even though the company recovered 99.7% of the funds, many users had already panicked after the sudden drop and sold off their BTC. The company then later recovered 93% of the Bitcoin sold.
However, Bithumb still couldn’t recover about 125 BTC and has promised to compensate everyone who suffered losses with around 110% to try to restore trust and in a show of responsibility.
Bithumb established a special task force to review transactions, assess the approval process, and ensure that no employee can make large transactions without confirmation. The company also set up a user protection fund worth 100 billion won ($68 million) to compensate users in the event of a similar incident in the future.
The Financial Supervisory Service learned of the incident and launched a full investigation into Bithumb, focusing on the company’s internal controls and risk management. Regulators wanted to know whether the company holds the same amount of virtual assets as users deposit, as required by the Virtual Asset User Protection Act.
Regulators also checked Bithumb’s systems to see how the ledger works and monitor the system that tracks deposits and trades. Furthermore, they checked the approval process for large transactions because the fact that an employee could send hundreds of thousands of BTC at once was a serious problem.
Finally, the regulator fined Bithumb about 36 billion won (roughly $27 million) and temporarily suspended some of its services. Bithumb is considering challenging the fines in court, but the company cannot go public at the moment due to these regulatory issues.
Similarly, Bithumb is now implementing reforms to ensure compliance with upcoming digital asset laws in South Korea and to avoid further delaying the IPO.
The company has also made plans to partner with other companies to diversify its revenue and reduce its dependence on commission income, which accounts for almost 98% of its current income.
Bithumb wants to ensure that no weaknesses remain by the time they go public, and that Bitcoin mispayment was a big wake-up call that shows even the biggest and strongest companies in the market can make mistakes.
If you're reading this, you’re already ahead. Stay there with our newsletter.
Empery Digital, Genius Group are joining a growing list of companies selling BTC to repay debt as...
Two publicly listed Bitcoin treasury companies, Empery Digital and Genius Group, have sold portions or all of their BTC holdings to repay outstanding debt, joining an increasing list of companies that are retreating from the corporate accumulation model, outside of Strategy.
All fingers point to the current market realities of BTC, as most of these firms accumulated the cryptocurrency when it was trading above $100,000. However, BTC now trades below $70,000, and it has left the balance sheets of these treasuries severely strained.
According to BitcoinTreasuries.net, nine public companies have reduced their Bitcoin holdings in March alone. The reported net sector growth has shrunk to 25,000 BTC after sales were factored in, and the share of new purchases from all treasury companies outside of Strategy has collapsed to 2% of monthly volume, down from 95% in October 2025.
Who is selling, and what is driving the disposals?
Empery Digital stated that it had fully repaid its outstanding term loan using proceeds from a recent registered direct offering and the sale of a portion of its bitcoin holdings.
The company sold 370 BTC at an average price of $66,632 per coin, generating about $24.7 million in gross proceeds. The repayment released around 1,800 Bitcoins that were previously pledged as collateral.
Empery Digital now holds 2,989 BTC in its treasury, with Ryan Lane, the company’s co-CEO, stating that “this transaction enhances our financial position and ability to manage risk in an environment of heightened bitcoin volatility.”
In early March, Empery Digital sold 102 BTC to fund shareholder buybacks as it faced heat from its boardroom, with some shareholders, ATG Capital, and Tice P. Brown to be specific, sharing notices of their intention to nominate directors to the company’s board.
Unlike Empery Digital, Genius Group sold its entire remaining Bitcoin treasury and used the proceeds to repay $8.5 million in debt in full.
The company management said it would resume Bitcoin accumulation when market conditions are more favorable.
In MARA Holdings’ case, the Bitcoin miner liquidated 15,133 BTC for approximately $1.1 billion in March, and this was about a quarter of its holdings.
How did the corporate Bitcoin model unravel so quickly?
Around mid-2025, a wave of companies, both big and small, ranging from education and healthcare firms to miners and blank-check vehicles, adopted Bitcoin treasury strategies modeled on Strategy’s template, thanks to BTC’s boom.
Most of these companies issued equity at a premium to net asset value (NAV), then used the proceeds to buy Bitcoin, with the aim of allowing the NAV premium to fund further accumulation in a self-reinforcing loop.
Galaxy Digital warned in a July 2025 report that the model was structurally fragile, a liquidity derivative that functioned only while equities traded above their underlying Bitcoin holdings, and unfortunately, the worst is already happening, and the companies are letting go of their BTC.
Bitcoin’s decline from above $110,000 to below $70,000 has left many of these firms underwater on their positions. Firms that funded accumulation with conventional debt, that is, term loans, convertible notes, and credit facilities, are now caught between an asset trading well below their cost basis and creditors whose claims do not compress with the Bitcoin price.
CNBC reported that corporate Bitcoin buying outside Strategy has registered its weakest monthly figures on record.
Which firms are still buying?
Strategy still continues to lead the frontline, buying up to 44,377 BTC in March, and this is 94% of all monthly additions across the sector. These acquisitions were funded mainly through at-the-market sales of its STRC perpetual preferred shares and common stock.
The company’s total holdings now stand at around 762,099 BTC, acquired for roughly $57.7 billion, and it holds a cash reserve of approximately $2.25 billion. Strategy’s latest weekly purchase of 1,031 BTC for $76.6 million suggested a moderation in pace after two consecutive billion-dollar weeks.
Japan’s Metaplanet raised 40.8 billion yen ($255 million) from global institutional investors in March through a share placement pairing new equity with fixed-strike warrants. This structure is said to have the potential to provide up to $531 million in total capital for more Bitcoin purchases.
The company holds 35,102 BTC and is targeting a treasury of 210,000 BTC. American Bitcoin Corp (ABTC) added 961 BTC across three purchases in March and now holds 7,000 BTC, climbing to sixteenth place among corporate holders.
The crypto card with no spending limits. Get 3% cashback and instant mobile payments. Claim your Ether.fi card.
Liquity saw its native token (LQTY) jump around 11% after an April Fool’s joke on acquiring Circl...
Earlier today, Liquity Protocol ruffled some feathers after publishing an announcement stating that Circle, the issuer of the USDC stablecoin, had acquired the project. The post made on its official X account quickly caught the eye of many, triggering market action among traders who missed the April Fool’s Day spirit of the post.
Within hours of the post going up, Liquity’s token recorded an approximately 11% spike according to CoinMarketCap, before dropping back to its usual activity once users realized the intent of the post.
Liquity saw a brief spike after its April Fool’s Day joke about Circle. Source: CoinMarketCap
Liquity makes a habit of trolling Circle
The recent attack on Circle follows a series of posts put up by Liquity to take subtle and sometimes, overt jabs at Circle and USDC. Its earlier posts include digs at the centralized stablecoin model and place Liquity’s system as a much better alternative due to its resilience.
Anyone who has noticed the theme might have raised an eyebrow at the announcement. However, the market manipulation risk is not non-existent either, despite the April 1 announcement seeming harmless at first glance.
Authorities might not see the humor in it, though. Elon Musk is in court over his 2022 takeover of X, which used to be Twitter at the time. The prolific social media user chronicled his purchase of the platform, but some of those posts are now being recalled in class action lawsuits.
Just one day earlier, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) extradited and indicted Gotbit executives over market manipulation charges.
So, the logic of making a joke where the punchline is a takeover that ultimately led to a price “pump and dump” is definitely questionable, even though it is on brand with Liquity’s aggressiveness in proclaiming itself as a better alternative to Circle in the stablecoin space.
How did markets react to the Circle takeover news?
While most understood the joke, the accompanying rise to $0.2935 from $0.2713 says otherwise. The April 1 stunt triggered immediate price action, suggesting that attention, even when rooted in humor, can lead to short-term market action.
Additionally, Liquity’s stunt and recent spike emphasize the trend in the crypto ecosystem, where viral posts, memes, and tweets are able to influence price action and control markets.
This further raises questions on how quickly markets react to headlines, regardless of how ambiguous or misleading they might be, all because of the fear of missing out (FOMO).
Liquity is back to trading at $0.2774 after almost touching $0.3 at the height of the Circle takeover bit. The token also saw a 165% spike in trading volume to almost $10.5 million, reflecting the action that followed the April Fool’s Day post.
Still letting the bank keep the best part? Watch our free video on being your own bank.