South Korea Fines Bithumb $136K for Overseas Data Transfers
South Korea’s data regulator fined crypto exchange Bithumb $136,000 for sending users’ personal data overseas without separate consent, including sharing USDT order books with BingX.
South Korea’s Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) fined Bithumb $136,000 after finding the exchange transferred users’ personal information overseas without separate consent. The probe found Bithumb shared Tether (USDT) order books with the overseas exchange BingX between September and November 2025.
The commission found consent had been obtained only to share data with Stellar, while Bithumb shared user information with BingX and 13 other overseas virtual asset exchanges.
The PIPC noted that providing personal information can be necessary for anti-money-laundering checks when users move assets to other platforms, but added that “regarding the overseas transfer of personal information and the data subject’s right to self-determination, it is necessary to strictly comply with the requirements and procedures stipulated in the Protection Act.”
Bithumb is one of South Korea’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges. In March regulators ordered a six-month suspension of the exchange for alleged violations of the Financial Information Act; a court lifted that suspension in April. Police searched Bithumb’s offices in June in an investigation into alleged nepotism linked to lawmaker Kim Byung-gi.
The finance ministry has confirmed a 22% tax on cryptocurrency gains will take effect in January 2027. About 16 million South Koreans held digital assets as of March 2025.
The national police agency has entered an agreement with a blockchain analytics firm to build investigative capacity aimed at tracing crypto attacks tied to North Korea.
The PIPC fine is among several Korean regulatory actions this year targeting exchanges’ compliance with financial and data-protection rules. Bithumb has not released a detailed response to the commission’s finding.
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