Bithumb Sets 2028 IPO Target, Files Preliminary Listing Review in 2027

Bithumb, South Korea’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, said on Monday it is targeting a 2028 initial public offering, laying out a three-stage timeline that starts with completing internal risk controls this year and filing for a preliminary listing review in 2027. The announcement follows a period of intense regulatory scrutiny after a mistaken transfer involving roughly $40 billion in bitcoin exposed gaps in the exchange’s internal controls earlier this year.

Three stages, two more years of prep

According to the roadmap, Bithumb plans to finish upgrading its risk management systems and complete the shift to Korean and international financial reporting standards (K-IFRS) by the end of 2026. In 2027, the exchange intends to submit an application for a preliminary listing review with domestic authorities. If that clears, the company would move toward a full public offering in 2028.

Bithumb said it is working with a mix of domestic and international securities firms, law firms and accounting advisers to execute the plan, but it has not disclosed where the shares would ultimately list. The exchange has previously floated both South Korea’s Kosdaq board and a NASDAQ listing in the United States as possible venues, without settling on either.

Why the timeline could still move

The exchange cautioned that the schedule is not fixed and could shift depending on market conditions and the pace of regulatory reviews. That caveat matters: any IPO filing in South Korea must pass through both exchange-level vetting and financial regulators, and Bithumb’s own recent history shows how quickly compliance timelines can slip.

Earlier this year, Bithumb came under regulatory pressure after erroneously transferring an amount of bitcoin valued near $40 billion, an error that left the exchange exposed to potential exploitation and drew criticism over its internal safeguards. CEO Lee Jae-won acknowledged shortcomings in the firm’s internal control framework in the aftermath, and the current restructuring push toward international accounting standards appears designed to address the fallout from that episode.

What it means for the market

An IPO would make Bithumb one of the few major Asian crypto exchanges to go public, following a path similar to Coinbase’s US listing and Bullish’s more recent debut. For South Korean investors and traders, a successful listing on either Kosdaq or NASDAQ would give outside shareholders their first direct equity exposure to one of the country’s dominant trading venues, alongside the exchange’s existing token and volume metrics.

For now, the roadmap is a statement of intent rather than a filed prospectus: no listing venue, share structure or valuation target has been disclosed. Traders watching Bithumb’s token listings and South Korea’s broader crypto market will be looking for confirmation of the venue choice and progress on the 2026 accounting overhaul as the clearest near-term signals of whether the 2028 target is realistic.

Sources

• decrypt.co
• coindesk.com
• coingape.com
• theblock.co