[비즈한국] The launch of Bithumb A, a newly established entity of Bithumb, is drawing significant attention from the market. This is because Lee Jung-hoon, the former chairman of Bithumb Holdings, who has maintained a low profile, has taken on the role of initial CEO of Bithumb A, signaling his return to management. By restructuring its governance during the establishment of Bithumb A, Bithumb appears to be aiming to boost corporate value while strengthening CEO Lee's control, thereby attempting to resolve controversies surrounding the company's real ownership.
In July, Bithumb sold its entire stake in Code, a subsidiary specializing in Travel Rule solutions (a system requiring the provision of information on senders and receivers of financial assets to prevent money laundering), to Bithumb Holdings. Code was founded in September 2021 through a 900 million KRW joint investment by three cryptocurrency exchanges (Bithumb, Korbit, and Coinone) to comply with the introduction of the domestic Travel Rule. Each exchange holds a 33.3% stake. Lee Sung-mi, former compliance officer at Bithumb, has served as its CEO since November 2022.
This sale of the Code stake is a result of the establishment of Bithumb A. Bithumb explained, "In the process of clarifying the cryptocurrency exchange business, non-exchange business areas, and governance structure following the spin-off, we sold the stake in Code to Bithumb Holdings." While Travel Rule solutions are an essential component of the cryptocurrency exchange business, it appears the stake was consolidated under the holding company due to the joint investment structure.
Following the sale of Code, and with the transfer of stakes in investment-related subsidiaries—ICB&Co, Asia Estate, and Bithumb Partners—to Bithumb A, Bithumb has completed the governance restructuring outlined in its corporate split plan. The BTC-i No. 1 2021 Venture Investment Fund remaining at Bithumb will be transferred to Bithumb A in 2026, while Banjang Friends, which operates a part-time job matching platform, and Arka Labs, which conducts fashion business, will follow in or after 2027.
Bithumb, currently preparing for an Initial Public Offering (IPO), is seeking to enhance its corporate value through this corporate split. Bithumb A will handle new ventures, holding business, and investment activities, excluding the core blockchain-related business. The plan is for Bithumb to focus solely on the cryptocurrency exchange business to boost its corporate value, while actively pursuing investment and new business opportunities through Bithumb A.
Bithumb A completed its incorporation registration on September 25. The market's attention was piqued when it was revealed that former Chairman Lee Jung-hoon had become the first CEO of Bithumb A following the registration. CEO Lee is known as the founder and real owner of Bithumb, but he had previously refrained from public activities. Having stepped down from most registered executive positions amid legal risks such as allegations of fraud related to coin listings, he has now moved to the forefront of management with the establishment of this new entity.
With CEO Lee's return to management, attention is also focused on whether he can improve the performance of his subsidiaries. All three subsidiaries under Bithumb A are currently reporting operating losses. Asia Estate, which engages in overseas real estate development, recorded an operating loss of 400 million KRW and a net loss of 4.1 billion KRW in 2024; its net income turned into a loss starting in 2023.
While the business consulting firm ICB&Co has maintained a net profit, it remains small in scale, standing at 96.59 million KRW as of 2024. Bithumb Partners, after Bithumb Meta (which previously handled NFT business) transitioned into an investment-specialized firm in the second half of 2024, recorded an operating loss of 800 million KRW. The situation is similar for the new business companies scheduled to be transferred to Bithumb A. Banjang Friends recorded an operating loss of 300 million KRW in 2024. As for Arka Labs, a new company established in February of this year, it generated sales in the third quarter, but only in the 20 million KRW range, and also recorded a net loss.
In the process of the corporate split, CEO Lee Jung-hoon increased his stake in the holding company, thereby strengthening his control. At the same time, he appears to be reducing the governance and real ownership risks surrounding Bithumb. Bithumb's governance structure involves complex interconnections between multiple companies, but is largely divided between CEO Lee's side and the Vidente121800 side. CEO Lee stands at the pinnacle of the governance structure, with two overseas holding companies and DAA positioned below him. On the other side, Vidente holds a significant stake in Bithumb and Bithumb Holdings through an investment chain that runs from Initial Investment Fund → Bucket Studio066410 → Inbiogen101140 → Vidente.
Currently, the largest shareholders of Bithumb Holdings are DAA and Vidente. Originally, Vidente's stake (34.22%) was higher than DAA's (29.98%), but the situation has changed. In a securities filing in June, Bithumb stated that DAA's stake in Bithumb Holdings had increased to 34.2%. Additionally, CEO Lee himself holds a 4.46% stake in Bithumb Holdings, while Vidente's stake has decreased to 30.0%.
As Bithumb solidifies the Lee Jung-hoon regime, it remains to be seen whether it will expand its size beyond its current position as the industry's second-largest player. Bithumb achieved record-breaking results in the third quarter with 196 billion KRW in revenue and 70.1 billion KRW in operating profit, marking increases of 184% and 771% respectively compared to the same period last year. An industry insider noted, "As CEO Lee has taken the helm of Bithumb A directly, if he succeeds in improving performance in non-cryptocurrency sectors through aggressive investments, we can expect further expansion into new business areas."