Bithumb will stop its Tether-based order book sharing service under regulatory pressure

According to DL News, South Korea's financial regulatory agency has 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 this service is currently still in the testing phase and has reached a order book sharing agreement with the Australian cryptocurrency exchange Stellar. Due to system maintenance, Bithumb plans to shut down the service on November 28 and restructure it to "provide a more stable and advanced trading environment," while also stating that it will notify users of the reopening time separately.

Some analysts believe that this move may be due to the regulatory agency's lack of trust in the exchange's ability to fulfill anti-money laundering obligations, which could lead to the termination of the practice of sharing order books with international partners. Sources revealed that the cryptocurrency industry generally believes that, after two months of intensive investigation and pressure from financial regulators, Bithumb has effectively abandoned this service.

Shortly after Bithumb launched the USDT market service, the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) summoned the exchange's CEO due to concerns that the service could expose domestic customers to personal data leaks and money laundering-related risks. According to South Korean media Newsis, Bithumb also underwent additional on-site inspections by the FIU regarding its order book.