Bithumb’s First-Quarter Operating Profit Plunges 95.8% to $2.1 Million

Bithumb, the South Korean cryptocurrency exchange, reported a sharp drop in first-quarter operating profit.

A filing posted May 15 on the Financial Supervisory Service’s electronic disclosure system showed first-quarter revenue fell 57.6% from a year earlier to 82.5 billion won ($59.9 million). Operating profit plunged 95.8% to 2.9 billion won ($2.1 million).

The company posted a net loss of 86.9 billion won ($63.0 million) in the first quarter, compared with net income of 33 billion won ($23.9 million) a year earlier.

The decline was driven by weaker investor sentiment toward digital assets amid instability in the Middle East and pressure from higher interest rates, the filing showed.