Bithumb Says Employee System Breached; No Crypto Funds Lost as South Korean Banks Face Hacks
Bithumb confirms breach of internal employee system
Bithumb, South Korea's second-largest crypto exchange by trading volume, said an outside party breached an internal mobile system used by its employees to work and message each other. The exchange said personal information may have been taken.
No cryptocurrency funds were reported lost as of Asian afternoon hours. Bithumb said the breached system runs separately from its trading platform, so customer virtual assets could not be accessed through it.
The exchange found the intrusion on Tuesday and reported it to South Korean authorities, including the Korea Internet & Security Agency and the Personal Information Protection Commission, according to Korean media. It told Yonhap it was still analyzing the scope of the incident, including the possibility that member information was involved.
Key numbers and timing
- Bithumb reported the breach to authorities on Tuesday.
- No crypto funds were reported lost as of Asian afternoon hours.
- Bithumb is the second-largest exchange in South Korea by trading volume.
- Daishin Securities said personal and credit information for 38,490 customers leaked in a separate outside attack.
Wider attacks on South Korean financial firms
Bithumb was one of three financial firms being assessed by the Financial Supervisory Service on Wednesday. The regulator's governor, Lee Chan-jin, said major financial investment companies experienced "overall hacking incidents yesterday." Earlier in the month he said cyberattacks had hit 16 South Korean financial firms as of Oct. 14.
Mirae Asset Global Investments said it blocked abnormal access to some of its web systems and said investor information was not affected.
Second control failure for Bithumb this year
This breach marks the second incident affecting Bithumb's controls in 2026. In February, the exchange mistakenly credited customers with 620,000 BTC instead of 620,000 won, worth more than $40 billion at the time. Then-CEO Lee Jae-won said the error came from weak internal controls and that the exchange was acutely aware of the deficiency in its internal system control.
What remains unclear
Bithumb has not said how many people's data was exposed or whether deposits and withdrawals were disrupted. The exchange is still determining whether member information was affected.
Sources
Newisty Editorial Team covers technology, cryptocurrency, digital products, online platforms, developer tools and the wider digital economy. Our content is researched from official sources, company announcements, public documentation, market data and other primary or reputable sources. Articles are reviewed and edited before publication for clarity, accuracy and useful context.
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