The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) escalates a field review to a formal inspection of Bithumb in Seoul in early February 2026, adding personnel to probe how roughly 620,000 bitcoins were paid out despite Bithumb’s reported holdings of about 46,000 BTC and the exchange’s use of book‑entry custodial operations.
Regulators are focused on potential breaches of the virtual asset user protection law requiring custodians to hold entrusted assets, whether the overpaid coins could be withdrawn en masse, and weaknesses such as one‑person approval for coin disbursements; findings will inform Korea’s second‑stage virtual‑asset legislation and possible tighter owner‑share or control rules.
🧭 FAQs
• Why did the FSS start a formal inspection of Bithumb? Because payouts totaling about 620,000 bitcoins far exceeded Bithumb’s reported custody balances.
• When and where did the inspection begin? The FSS upgraded its probe to a formal inspection in Seoul in early February 2026.
• What internal controls will regulators examine? Authorities will review one‑person payout approvals, ledger‑to‑custody reconciliation, and monitoring systems.
• How will the inspection outcome be used in Korea? The FSS will use results to shape second‑stage virtual‑asset legislation and supervisory reforms in South Korea.
