Bithumb's Shady Tactics Exposed: South Korean Lawmaker Blasts Crypto Giant for Overcharging Users

140 Billion Won in Hidden Fees: Bithumb's Dark Patterns Unveiled

Holy smokes, folks! A South Korean lawmaker just dropped a bombshell on Bithumb, accusing the crypto exchange of using sneaky dark patterns to fleece users out of billions in extra fees. You heard that right—billions!

According to The Maeil Business Newspaper, Bithumb raked in a jaw-dropping 140 billion won (nearly $97.6 million) in extra fees by pulling the wool over users' eyes with their shady practices. This is what Kim Jae-sup, a member of the People's Power party, is shouting from the rooftops.

Kim spilled the beans that Bithumb pocketed a whopping 672.79 billion won in total fees between February 2023 and February 2024, and he's got the data from the Financial Supervisory Service to back it up.

Now, get this: during that time, Bithumb was strutting around claiming they had the "lowest commission in Korea" at just 0.04%. But hold onto your hats—Kim says the real average commission rate slapped on users was actually 0.051%. That sneaky move cost consumers an extra 140.91 billion won, and Kim ain't holding back on the outrage.

Kim didn't mince words, calling out Bithumb for not telling users they needed to jump through hoops and register a coupon to get the promised low rate. He's calling it a classic dark pattern, where the user interface is designed to trick you into doing things you never intended to do.

And here's the kicker: Kim says the older folks are getting hit the hardest. "The damage to the middle-aged who may have difficulty recognizing or carrying out the coupon registration process is even more serious," he said, urging regulators to step up and put an end to this consumer deception. He's calling on the Financial Services Commission and the Fair Trade Commission to come down hard on Bithumb.

Bithumb's Profit Surge Amid Controversy

Despite the uproar, Bithumb is laughing all the way to the bank, having returned to profitability in 2024 with a mind-blowing 265.4% increase in revenue year-over-year.

According to the Financial Supervisory Service's electronic disclosure system, Bithumb posted an operating profit of 130.7 billion won (around $90.1 million) last year, flipping the script from the 14.8 billion won operating loss they took in 2023. And get this—their net profit for 2024 skyrocketed 565.8% year-over-year to 161.8 billion won (nearly $111.2 million).