South Korea’s cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb has sharply reduced the scale of its recently launched coin lending service, slashing the leverage ratio from 4x to 2x and cutting the maximum lending amount by 80%, from 1 billion won to 200 million won.
The move comes less than a week after the service resumed on August 8, following a temporary suspension due to insufficient lending volume. Bithumb said the changes are aimed at strengthening investor protection and enhancing service quality.
The cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb has implemented “substantial cuts” to the extent of its cryptocurrency lending services due to persistent apprehensions from financial regulators. According to the South Korean publication Kookmin Ilbo, the trading platform has decreased its… pic.twitter.com/O3eUjuEmAd
— clark.ron | $CAG @ ???????? (@clarkron_2008) August 12, 2025
Even high-volume traders those with more than 100 billion won in cumulative transactions over the past three years — will now face the same 200 million won lending cap.
The decision follows mounting criticism from South Korea’s Financial Services Commission (FSC) and Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) over excessive leverage offered by virtual asset platforms. On July 31, regulators formed a joint task force with financial research institutes and crypto exchanges to draft Virtual Asset Lending Service Guidelines, citing risks of significant investor losses when market volatility exceeds expectations.
Bithumb reportedly revised its lending limits after internal reviews and discussions with authorities. The exchange now plans to operate under tighter constraints while awaiting the release of formal guidelines, expected later this month. Industry observers anticipate that the rules will mirror leverage restrictions in traditional stock trading.
The regulatory push comes as other exchanges take similar measures. Upbit, for instance, excluded Tether (USDT) from its coin lending service due to legal and compliance concerns.
With leverage and borrowing limits tightening, South Korea’s crypto lending sector is bracing for stricter oversight — a shift that could reshape high-risk trading in the country’s digital asset market.
Adding to the momentum, Bithumb recently announced the upcoming listing of AMP on its KRW market. Trading for AMP will began at 4:00 PM KST on Friday, April 4, 2025, with a base price of 5.091 KRW. This announcement follows the earlier launch of Bubble Maps (BMT), which debuted on March 18, 2025, at a listing price of 211 KRW.
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