South Korea fines Bithumb 210 million won for data breach

South Korea's Personal Information Protection Commission has fined cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb 210 million won, equivalent to approximately $136,000 to $164,000, for transferring user data overseas without proper consent. The penalty, approved during the regulator's plenary meeting on June 24, was accompanied by a corrective order requiring the exchange to revise its cross-border data transfer processes.

The commission's review focused on two specific practices. First, it found that between September and November 2025, Bithumb shared its Tether market order book with an overseas platform. While users had consented to a data transfer involving Stellar exchange, the information, including member numbers and order details, was actually sent to a system operated by a different platform identified as BingX. The regulator determined this constituted an overseas personal information transfer to an unapproved recipient.

Second, the commission examined Bithumb's virtual asset transfers to 13 foreign exchanges. The exchange provided sender and recipient data, including names, wallet addresses, and in some instances dates of birth, for anti-money laundering checks. Officials...