Bithumb is discussing a one-year KB Kookmin Bank renewal, Upbit and K Bank say procedures are progressing normally, and Coinone is nearing a one-year KakaoBank extension before its mid-August expiry.
South Korea's main cryptocurrency exchanges are moving through a key renewal cycle for the real-name bank account partnerships required for won trading. Bithumb and KB Kookmin Bank are discussing a return to a one-year contract before an August expiry after a six-month February renewal that followed Bithumb's large-scale Bitcoin erroneous payout incident. Upbit's K Bank partnership, due to expire in October, is also said to be progressing normally despite speculation that Hana Bank's roughly 1 trillion won investment for a 6.55% stake in Dunamu could eventually lead to a bank change. The newer update adds that Coinone is likely to renew its KakaoBank partnership for another year before a mid-August expiry after KakaoBank completed an on-site inspection in May, providing more precise timing than the earlier report. The renewal cycle is being closely watched because banks are tightening risk checks under South Korea's post-Virtual Asset User Protection Act framework.