Bithumb is targeting a 2028 initial public offering after setting out a three-year plan to strengthen internal controls, change its accounting standards and complete a preliminary listing review in 2027, according to a notice published by the South Korean cryptocurrency exchange.
The proposed schedule places 2026 at the center of the company’s IPO groundwork. Bithumb said it plans to upgrade its internal-control systems and move its financial reporting from Korean Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, or K-GAAP, to Korean International Financial Reporting Standards, known as K-IFRS.
The exchange said it would seek a preliminary listing review in 2027, a process that would precede reviews by relevant Korean authorities. It aims to complete the offering in 2028, while cautioning that the timeline could move in response to market conditions and regulatory review schedules.
Bithumb had previously pointed to a 2028 listing window after an earlier target of 2025 was delayed. Its latest notice provides the clearest public sequence yet for how the company intends to prepare for a market debut, with governance, accounting and organizational changes taking priority before a formal review request.
Accounting change moves Bithumb toward listed-company reporting
Bithumb said the switch to K-IFRS forms part of its IPO preparation. The reporting framework is used by Korean listed companies and requires financial statements to follow a more standardized approach to recognizing, measuring and disclosing assets, liabilities and business activity.
For a cryptocurrency exchange, the transition carries practical consequences beyond changing the format of annual accounts. The business handles customer assets, trading fees, technology systems and volatile crypto-related balances, all of which require clear accounting policies and controls that can withstand scrutiny from auditors and prospective shareholders.
Bithumb said it is working with a domestic accounting firm on the preparation process. The exchange did not name the firm or disclose a proposed valuation, the size of a potential offering, or the market on which it expects to list.
Those unanswered commercial details are unsurprising at this stage. A preliminary listing review is designed to assess whether a company meets applicable requirements before a listing process reaches its final stages. Bithumb’s decision to identify 2027 for that step suggests that its management expects 2026 to be consumed by the less visible work of documentation, policy changes and audit readiness.
Internal controls take priority after operational scrutiny
The exchange said it is building a risk-management framework aligned with requirements for listed firms. It also said it has restructured the business to clarify responsibilities among units, simplify its organization and reduce potential conflicts of interest.
Those measures address areas that are especially sensitive for a trading platform preparing to enter public markets: who oversees custody, how operational errors are escalated, whether business divisions have clearly defined authority, and how senior management monitors financial and technology risks.
Bithumb also said it is diversifying its business model and securing liquid assets. The company did not provide figures for its liquidity position, identify new business lines, or explain how diversification would be measured. In an IPO setting, those initiatives would likely form part of the company’s effort to show that its revenues and balance sheet can be managed through periods of changing cryptocurrency trading activity.
The preparations follow an earlier promotional-distribution error in which an employee mistakenly sent approximately 620,000 BTC to users after entering a cryptocurrency ticker rather than a cash-reward designation, according to the supplied account of the incident. The reported value of the erroneous distribution was about $43 billion to $44 billion at the time.
The same account said the incident prompted scrutiny of Bithumb’s internal controls and risk management, while the company recovered most of the mistakenly distributed assets. Bithumb’s latest emphasis on control frameworks, clearer organizational responsibilities and listed-company governance places those issues directly within its IPO agenda.
Advisers will shape the listing review strategy
Bithumb said it is working with securities firms, law firms and accounting firms on valuation, legal-risk assessments and strategies for the preliminary review process.
That combination of advisers indicates that the exchange is addressing several tracks simultaneously. Securities firms would help shape the offering and valuation approach; lawyers would assess legal and governance risks; and accountants would support the transition to K-IFRS and the preparation of financial disclosures.
The timetable also leaves Bithumb with room to respond to regulators before attempting to complete an offering. A 2027 preliminary review followed by a 2028 target date gives the company a longer runway than its previous 2025 ambition, reducing pressure to pursue a listing while governance systems are still being rebuilt.
Bithumb’s plans arrive as South Korea’s large digital-asset businesses face higher expectations around customer-asset protection, operational resilience and corporate oversight. A public listing would subject the exchange to a more demanding disclosure environment, where financial reporting, board accountability and risk procedures would become matters for shareholders as well as regulators.
The company’s own caveat on timing remains material. Market conditions can affect IPO valuations and demand, while regulatory reviews can require corrective work that extends a schedule. Bithumb has set a direction toward 2028, but the success of that plan will depend on whether its accounting conversion, control upgrades and preliminary review preparations satisfy the standards expected of a listed Korean company.
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