Bithumb, a virtual asset (coin) exchange under investigation by the financial authorities for sharing an order book (order book) with an overseas exchange, was found to have received virtual assets worth around 10 billion won from the unlicensed overseas exchange BingX. An unlicensed exchange is a virtual asset exchange that has not obtained a virtual asset service provider (VASP) license from Korea's financial authorities. BingX faces allegations that it has the same operator as the Australian exchange Stella, with which Bithumb shared its order book.
According to materials obtained by ChosunBiz from a domestic Blockchain research lab on the 26th, more than 10 types of virtual assets moved from BingX's hot wallet to Bithumb's hot wallet from mid-June. A hot wallet is a wallet connected to the internet that stores and conducts transactions of virtual assets. The transaction list shows that various assets, including Ethereum (ETH), USDC, and Pepe (PEPE), moved multiple times. Based on the timing of the transfers, the sum is estimated at about 10 billion won.
When an exchange holds a new listing event, there are cases where it receives virtual assets from a foundation to distribute to customers for free. Bithumb's hot wallet was a wallet for receiving event assets. However, the virtual assets received from BingX were not for an event.
Under the Act on Reporting and Using Specified Financial Transaction Information, the unlicensed exchange BingX cannot operate domestically and cannot share an order book or conduct direct transactions. Whether a domestic exchange partnering with an unlicensed exchange for services or technology is illegal depends on the case, but the financial authorities view virtual asset transfers as a type of transaction. An official at the financial authorities said, "We need to look closely to determine whether it is illegal, but if it falls under an unreported business, there could be a violation of the Act on Reporting and Using Specified Financial Transaction Information."
BingX faces allegations that it has the same operator as the Australian exchange Stella, with which Bithumb shared its order book. According to data obtained by Rep. Kang Min-guk of the People Power Party from the Financial Services Commission (FSC), when Bithumb first pursued order book sharing, it planned to cooperate with BingX, not Stella, and BingX and Stella have identical order books. The fact that BingX personnel were stationed at Bithumb's headquarters in Gangnam-gu also stirred controversy. The financial authorities will conduct on-site inspections related to the order book sharing between Bithumb and Stella through the end of this month.
Regarding the receipt of virtual assets worth around 10 billion won, Bithumb said, "We do not disclose the movement history or purpose of individual wallets," adding it was "for service operations."