PANews reported on November 27th that, according to DL News, South Korean financial regulators have urged Bithumb to suspend its Tether (USDT) market service, which allows customers to buy and sell Bitcoin and nine high-market-cap altcoins using USDT. Bithumb stated that the service is still in the testing phase and that it has reached an order book sharing agreement with Australian cryptocurrency exchange Stellar. Due to system maintenance, Bithumb plans to shut down the service on November 28th and restructure it to "provide a more stable and advanced trading environment," adding that it will announce the reopening date separately. Some analysts believe this move may stem from regulators' distrust of exchanges' ability to fulfill anti-money laundering obligations, potentially leading to the termination of order book sharing practices with international partners.
Sources indicate that the crypto industry widely believes Bithumb has effectively abandoned its USDT marketplace service after two months of intensive investigation and pressure from financial regulators. Shortly after launching its USDT marketplace service, Bithumb was summoned by the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) due to concerns that the service could expose domestic customers to data breaches and money laundering risks. According to South Korean media outlet Newsis, Bithumb also underwent additional on-site inspections by the FIU regarding its order book.


