Trading Halt and Immediate Fallout
Late on September 2, 2025, Bithumb, one of South Korea’s largest crypto exchanges, experienced a sudden system crash that froze trading for about 100 minutes. The failure occurred around 11:27 PM KST and was linked to an internal transaction system error, not a cyberattack.
During the downtime, traders couldn’t execute orders, and the order book stalled completely. CoinGecko data showed that trading volume slipped from nearly $1 billion to about $900 million during the disruption.
Bithumb’s Pledge to Users
On September 3, the exchange promised to compensate anyone who suffered direct financial losses during the outage. Claims will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis, with resolutions expected within roughly one month.
Bithumb emphasized that it is investigating the cause of the incident and plans to strengthen its infrastructure to avoid similar breakdowns in the future. This move is seen as critical, especially as the company eyes an IPO in 2026.
Ongoing Challenges for South Korean Exchanges
This isn’t Bithumb’s first stumble. From 2018 to 2024, the exchange reported 41 service disruptions—more than rival Upbit, which recorded 28. These repeated failures have fueled frustration among investors and regulators alike.
Adding to the problem, South Korea currently lacks standardized legal rules for exchange compensation. This gap leaves users uncertain about how claims will be handled, intensifying calls for clearer regulations.
Bithumb’s outage underscores a broader issue facing South Korea’s crypto industry: fragile infrastructure and inconsistent protections for traders. With regulators tightening oversight and investors demanding reliability, exchanges may soon face stricter requirements for operational stability.
If Bithumb hopes to build confidence ahead of its planned IPO, it will need to deliver not just compensation but also long-term trust in its systems.
