KB Kookmin Bank Seeks FIU Approval for One-Year Bithumb Contract Renewal

Partnership Through End-September Next Year

Expected to Boost Deposits

KB Kookmin Bank will extend its partnership with cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb for real-name verified deposit and withdrawal accounts by another year.

According to financial industry officials on Sept. 7, KB Kookmin recently agreed with Bithumb to renew the partnership for one year and has applied to the Financial Intelligence Unit for approval. If approved, the partnership will continue through the end of September next year.

Bithumb suffered an accidental Bitcoin overpayment incident earlier this year, but the episode appears to have had little effect on the partnership. After the incident, the two sides shortened the contract period from one year to six months, fueling doubts about whether they would renew the deal.

KB Kookmin is understood to have decided to maintain the partnership after concluding that the Bithumb tie-up helped expand deposits. The bank's demand deposit balance stood at 176.8 trillion won ($127.7 billion) at the end of the first half, up 25.3 trillion won ($18.3 billion) from 151.5 trillion won ($109.5 billion) at the end of 2024. Monthly active users on Star Banking, the bank's app, rose to 14.06 million from 13.03 million over the same period.

Funds from cryptocurrency investors using accounts linked to Bithumb have been helping since early last year, according to market participants. Bithumb switched its real-name accounts from NongHyup Bank to KB Kookmin Bank on March 24 last year. It began preregistration for the accounts two months earlier, bringing in new customers from January of that year.

KB Kookmin's contract renewal with Bithumb adds to signs that partnerships between banks and cryptocurrency exchanges in South Korea will remain largely unchanged this year. Last month, KakaoBank renewed its partnership with Coinone for another year. K Bank is also discussing a renewal to continue its tie-up with Upbit, the country's largest cryptocurrency exchange. The two have maintained their partnership for a sixth consecutive year since 2020.

Kim Jin-seong, Hankyung.com reporter, jskim1028@hankyung.com