Bithumb, South Korea’s second largest crypto exchange, is dropping NongHyup Bank in favor of Kookmin Bank as part of its efforts to tap into the mainstream market.
According to a report by The Korea Times on Jan. 13, Bithumb will be changing its deposit and withdrawal service provider bank from NH NongHyup Bank to KB Kookmin Bank starting from March 2025.
South Korea’s Financial Intelligence Unit, the nation’s financial watchdog, recently approved the exchange’s application to change partner banks. According to the report, Bithumb’s partnership with Nonghyup will end on March 23. By South Korean law, crypto exchange’s are only allowed to have one partner bank to facilitate Korean won transactions.
As a result, investors who wish to trade virtual assets on Bithumb must open a Kookmin Bank account using their real name and link it to their Bithumb account. They can no longer use a NongHyup Bank to trade on Bithumb starting from March 24 at 11:00 AM KST.
On the other hand, users can start linking their Kookmin Bank accounts on the same day, starting from Jan. 20 at 09:00 AM KST, according to a Bithumb official who added that more details on how to do so will be provided in a separate notice.
Bithumb CEO Lee Jae-won thanked NongHyup Bank for its long partnership with Bithumb and ensured users that the crypto exchange will ensure a smooth transition process, with the addition of corporate accounts from Kookmin Bank.
“Moving forward, both companies will do the best to ensure the healthy and stable growth of the virtual asset market,” said Lee.
Bithumb’s decision to switch partner banks from NongHyup Bank to Kookmin Bank is believed to stem from the crypto exchange’s desire to expand their market reach, specifically towards younger users.
According to a yearly survey, Kookmin Bank is ranked as the second most popular bank among South Koreans in their 20s, falling behind only to KakaoBank, which is rooted in the social messaging app KakaoTalk.
Last September, Kookmin launched the “So Young” debit card program, which offers special discounts for businesses favored by teenagers.
In addition, Kookmin Bank is one of the four largest banks in South Korea, alongside Shinhan Bank, Hana Bank and Woori Bank. At the time of writing, Korbit is the only other crypto exchange in South Korea that holds a partnership with a big four bank, Shinhan Bank.
