Bithumb Partnership Bank Change Fell Through... 6-Month Extension with NH Nonghyup Bank

Bithumb "Retry After 6 Months"

South Korea's second-largest virtual asset exchange Bithumb has extended its partnership contract with NH Nonghyup Bank for the real-name verified deposit and withdrawal service by six months.

Previously, Bithumb had attempted to change its partner bank from NH Nonghyup Bank to KB Kookmin Bank, but the plan was ultimately abandoned.

Bithumb [Photo by Bithumb]

According to a Yonhap News report on the 24th, the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) of the Financial Services Commission accepted the six-month extension notification for the partnership contract between Bithumb and NH Nonghyup Bank on the same day.

Bithumb will continue its collaboration with NH Nonghyup Bank, which has been ongoing since 2018, for another six months. Virtual asset exchange users must open a real-name verified deposit and withdrawal account at the partner bank to trade virtual assets in Korean won.

Earlier, Bithumb tried to change its partner bank from NH Nonghyup Bank to KB Kookmin Bank. At that time, financial authorities reportedly expressed the opinion that sufficient user protection measures were necessary during the process of opening new bank accounts or transferring customer assets.

An FIU official told Yonhap News, "If Bithumb submits supplementary documents for the change notification in the future, we plan to review the user protection measures during the notification review process and promptly decide whether to accept it." Bithumb intends to supplement the user protection measures required by financial authorities and reattempt the change to KB Kookmin Bank around March next year, when the partnership contract with NH Nonghyup Bank expires. Lee Jae-won, CEO of Bithumb, said, "We will thoroughly supplement user protection measures in accordance with the supervisory authorities' guidelines and proceed with the partner bank change after six months."

Many view Bithumb's attempt to change its partner bank to KB Kookmin Bank as an effort to recover lost market share. KB Kookmin Bank is considered to have relatively better accessibility for metropolitan areas and younger demographics. Typically, the partner bank is evaluated as a bridge connecting virtual asset exchanges and traders, as well as the first point of contact.

Meanwhile, Upbit, a latecomer, quickly increased its market share after partnering with the internet-only bank K Bank, surpassing Bithumb. Last year, Upbit's market share soared to 90%. Bithumb, which was initially the number one virtual asset exchange, remained in second place. Since then, Bithumb has employed various measures, including temporary transaction fee exemptions, to raise its current market share to the 30% range, but there is still a gap with Upbit.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.