South Korean Bithumb Fined $136,000 for Overseas User Data Transfer Breach

South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb was order to pay a $136,000 fine after it was found to have breached personal information protections rules when it sent user data overseas.

In a Thursday notice, the country's Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) said that its investigation into Bithumb found that the exchange had “transferred personal information overseas without the separate consent of the data subjects during the process of order book sharing and virtual asset transfer with overseas virtual asset exchanges.”

The incident was connected to Bithumb sharing its Tether (USDT) order books between September and November 2025 with BingX, despite obtaining consent to share the data with Stellar, as well as sharing user information with 13 overseas exchanges.

“The Personal Information Protection Commission determined that there is a necessity to provide personal information for anti-money laundering purposes when transferring virtual assets to other exchanges, but regarding the overseas transfer of personal information and the data subject's right to self-determination, it was determined that, as this is a closely related matter, it is necessary to strictly comply with the requirements and procedures stipulated in the Protection Act,” the notice said, in translation.

One of the largest crypto exchanges in South Korea, Bithumb has been subject to intense scrutiny from authorities.

The country’s financial watchdog imposed a six-month suspension of the exchange’s activities in March over alleged violations of South Korea’s Financial Information Act, but a court reversed the decision in April. Earlier this month, police reportedly raided Bithumb’s offices as part of an investigation into alleged nepotism involving South Korean lawmaker Kim Byung-gi.

South Korea’s Finance Ministry confirmed in May that a 22% tax on cryptocurrency gains would be imposed beginning in January 2027. The tax has faced several delays in implementation after initially expected to go into effect in 2025, but will likely affect many South Koreans who hold crypto.

According to the Yonhap news agency, about 16 million South Koreans were invested in digital assets as of March 2025.

Earlier this month, Chainalysis said that it signed a memorandum of understanding with the Korean National Police Agency (KNPA), aimed at building investigative capability within South Korea’s law enforcement.

One of the driving factors behind the pact is to better combat North Korea-linked crypto attacks, with South Korea’s police “at the forefront” of tackling these threats.