Recently, I noticed that a Korean cryptocurrency exchange has pushed back its listing plan again, this time directly delaying it until after 2028, several years later than the previously announced 2025.

Speaking of which, this exchange has indeed experienced quite a few setbacks over the past two years. Last year alone, there were numerous issues related to compliance, and the board of directors also changed several times. The most outrageous incident was in February this year—a blunder where the system mistakenly credited 2,000 BTC to user accounts, when it should have been 2,000 Korean won. Although this money was ultimately not actually disbursed, such a level of operational error is quite impactful for an exchange that aims to go public.

Previously, Korean regulators also pressured this exchange, fining it $24 million for anti-money laundering compliance issues and requiring it to suspend operations for six months. Against this backdrop, the management now plans to spend two or three years thoroughly fixing the accounting system and internal control mechanisms before considering an IPO application. They even specifically hired a professional accounting firm to handle this.

Interestingly, despite the repeated delays in the IPO, shareholders still support the current CEO to continue for another two years. This shows that everyone understands that rather than rushing to go public, it’s better to first solidify the fundamentals. Such an attitude is quite rare among cryptocurrency exchanges.

It seems that the Korean market is now imposing stricter requirements for exchange listings. Not only is this exchange preparing, but it’s also said that some other cryptocurrency operators are planning similar strategies. This trend reflects the industry’s shift from rapid growth to regulation, and those players aiming to enter mainstream capital markets must demonstrate real capability.