South Korea Imposes 5-Minute Audit Rule On Crypto Platforms

Bithumb has pushed its stock market listing past 2028, citing the need to overhaul its accounting systems and internal controls after a high-profile crypto payout error drew scrutiny from South Korean regulators. Related Reading: XRP Headed For A Price Shock, Japan’s Financial Heavyweight Says Regulator Steps In After Industry Audit The Financial Services Commission announced Monday that all crypto exchanges operating in the country must now reconcile their internal records with actual asset holdings on a five-minute cycle. The directive followed an emergency inspection triggered by Bithumb’s February blunder, in which the exchange accidentally sent 620,000 Bitcoin to 249 users during a rewards promotion. Bithumb recovered nearly all of it the same day — 99.7% — and used company funds to cover the remaining 1,788 BTC that had already been sold. What the inspection turned up across the broader industry alarmed regulators. Three of South Korea’s five largest exchanges were ch