Bithumb, the largest crypto exchange in South Korea, is available for sale. The owners of the crypto trading platform want to sell it after authorities put a strong hand over them.

Bidders Offer between $430 and $604 Million

According to the local news outlet Herald, the biggest South Korean exchange will be sold to the highest bidder. The report unveils that a 74% stake by Bithumb Holdings for Bithumb Korea is up for sale. As the exchange is available for sale, the bidders, interested in buying, have offered between $430 million and $604 million. However, the identity of bidders is still unknown to the public.

The new owners of Bithumb will have to comply it with new laws of the country such as the “Special Payments Act”. Special Payments Act’s revised bill will be implemented from March 2021. The trading site must have to comply with FATF’s policies. Samjong KPMG, the Korean branch of KPMG, is supervising the selling of the company.

Bithumb is the most favorite and the largest cryptocurrency exchange for South Korean traders. Bithumb has played a major role in the adoption of cryptocurrency among investors and traders of the country. Currently, 4.77 million users are linked with the trading platform while it comprises more than 50% of the local trading volume.

Escape from Legal Penalties

The banking industry of the country believes that the investors are selling because they want to escape from the legal penalties while recovering their investment. An IB’s official said,” As management rights disputes and legal disputes continue, we are speculating that investors are trying to recover their investments and get out of their hands through the sale.”

The exchange is also facing critical charges from law enforcement agencies. Bithumb’s chairman Lee Jung Hoon is currently under investigation from the Seoul Metropolitan Police. He is facing charges in the case of an investor’s loss of $25 million deliberately. According to local news reports, the exchanges raided by authorities two times in a month.

In 2018, Bithumb also put on sale as BK Global Consortium wanted to purchase it but the deal did not become successful as buyers were unable to pay the amount.