Bithumb Locks In 2028 IPO as Crypto Listing Race Heats Up

South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb has put dates behind its long-discussed public listing, outlining a three-stage plan that targets an initial public offering in 2028.

The company will spend 2026 upgrading its governance and converting its financial reporting to K-IFRS, the accounting standard used by publicly traded companies. A preliminary listing review is planned for 2027 before an IPO attempt in 2028.

Companies rarely delay an IPO unless they conclude the underlying business needs more work. That appears to be the case here.

Preparing for a public listing is less about marketing to investors than proving the business can withstand years of regulatory scrutiny. Auditors typically spend as much time examining internal processes as they do financial statements, making governance upgrades a critical part of the timeline.

The urgency behind those changes became much clearer after a costly internal mistake in February.

The exchange recovered about 99.7% of the erroneous balances, absorbed the remaining loss from its own reserves, and later created a customer protection fund. The incident also prompted South Korea’s Financial Supervisory Service to examine the exchange’s internal controls and risk management practices.

Operational errors of this size often become defining moments for financial companies because regulators typically focus less on the mistake itself than on why existing safeguards failed to prevent it.

Financially, Bithumb enters the IPO process from a position of relative strength.

The company also expanded its customer base after switching its banking partner to KB Kookmin Bank, adding 1.74 million new users and pushing market share above 30% during 2025.

Those results provide a solid financial foundation, but public investors are likely to place equal weight on governance improvements and regulatory compliance as they evaluate the business.

The broader trading environment has become less favorable.

Combined trading volume across South Korea’s five largest won-based cryptocurrency exchanges dropped 54.6% during the first half of 2026. Bithumb’s market share also eased from roughly 30.7% to around 27% during parts of the year as Upbit continued to dominate trading activity.

Bithumb’s IPO schedule now depends less on setting new target dates and more on completing measurable milestones.

Bithumb has postponed listing plans before, and the company acknowledges the timeline could still change. The difference this time is that every step toward an IPO will unfold under closer regulatory oversight, leaving far less room for missed deadlines or operational missteps.