Bithumb narrowly avoids temporary 'business suspension'… fierce courtroom battle with the FIU looms

Court to hold formal hearing on stay of execution next month

A string of lawsuits by exchanges, following Dunamu

Bithumb, South Korea’s second-largest virtual-asset exchange, which received a decision from the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) to partially suspend its business, has been temporarily allowed to take on new customers. This came after the court granted Bithumb’s request to suspend the effect of the business suspension until next month. With Bithumb joining Dunamu—operator of Upbit, the country’s largest exchange—in filing suit against the FIU, courtroom disputes over virtual-asset operations are expected to intensify.

According to Bithumb on the 25th, the Administrative Division 2 of the Seoul Administrative Court decided the previous day to suspend the effect of the FIU’s six-month partial business suspension imposed on Bithumb until the 30th of next month. Until a formal decision on the stay of execution is issued, Bithumb will be able to continue operating normally. The original suspension period was from the 27th of this month to September 26.

A stay of execution is a provisional measure requesting that the effect of an administrative disposition be temporarily halted. The court set a formal hearing date for the stay of execution on the 23rd of next month, and if the stay is granted after the hearing, the suspension period will be extended until a first-instance ruling is issued in the main administrative lawsuit. Such decisions typically come within a few weeks.

Bithumb on the 16th received a six-month partial suspension from the FIU for alleged violations of the Act on Reporting and Using Specified Financial Transaction Information (the Specified Financial Transaction Information Act), putting it at risk of being barred from transferring virtual assets for new customers. In response, on the 23rd it filed a lawsuit seeking to revoke the disposition and simultaneously applied for a stay of execution. The FIU said that during an on-site inspection of Bithumb in March–April 2025 it uncovered 6.65 million cases of violations of the Specified Financial Transaction Information Act, including transactions with unreported virtual-asset service providers and breaches of customer due-diligence obligations.

The virtual-asset industry is watching the outcome of the administrative lawsuit between Dunamu and the FIU, with a first-instance ruling due on the 4th of next month. Dunamu has been pursuing an administrative lawsuit since February last year, seeking to revoke the FIU’s three-month business suspension imposed for alleged violations of the Specified Financial Transaction Information Act.

Reporter Park Si-on ushire908@hankyung.com