South Korean Crypto Exchange Bithumb Still Aiming for IPO Despite ‘Deep’ Troubles
The South Korean crypto exchange Bithumb has effectively confirmed reports that it is hoping to launch an initial public offering (IPO), but may be hampered by financial issues and ongoing legal problems.
Per the South Korean media outlets Economist and Decenter, Bithumb wants to become the first crypto exchange in the nation to go public.
A Bithumb official confirmed the firm’s interest in launching an IPO, stating:
“This IPO will help us to increase transparency and allow us to have our internal control operations verified externally.”
Rumors of rival trading platform Upbit and its operator Dunamu launching an IPO on the New York Stock Exchange circulated in 2021.
However, talk on this front has cooled quickly following the onset of a long crypto winter.
But Bithumb is reportedly hoping to gazump its rival by floating on the Korea Stock Exchange.
The media outlet noted that Bithumb selected Samsung Securities as its underwriter “at the end of last month” and has already “begun” its “IPO work.”
The media outlet claimed that the company is yet to determine an exact listing timeline or fix a target corporate value.
But the firm reportedly hopes to complete its listing by “the second half of 2025.”
And the exchange is reportedly “also considering the possibility” of changing its listing “to the KOSPI market in the future.”
The KOSPI (Korea Composite Stock Price Index) is the nation’s equivalent to the United States’ S&P 500 index.
However, the IPO news arguably could not have come at a worse time for Bithumb.
Decenter also reported that Bithumb posted operating losses of almost half a million USD in the third quarter of the financial year.
Sales also fell by more than 53% compared to the same period last year, with the firm posting a
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