Overview
- Kiwoom Securities entered talks on Monday, June 29, 2026, to buy newly issued Bithumb shares through a third‑party allotment according to local reporting.
- Bithumb confirmed it is discussing partnerships with several financial institutions but said no investment size or stake percentage has been agreed and Kiwoom has not publicly commented.
- Regulators have recently fined Bithumb for data‑transfer and anti‑money‑laundering failures and the exchange suffered a February systems error that created about 620,000 'phantom' BTC and triggered a flash crash.
- Bithumb has engaged Samjong KPMG as an IPO adviser and now expects any public listing no earlier than 2028 because of the glitch and enforcement actions.
- The talks form part of a wave of moves by banks and global crypto firms to buy local exchanges and they will be shaped by the proposed Digital Asset Basic Act, which aims to cap single‑shareholder stakes and tighten governance.