Coinspeaker Bithumb Meta Rebranded to Bithumb Partners as Part of Strategic Shift
South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb has transformed its subsidiary, Bithumb Meta, into Bithumb Partners. It was revealed that the name change occurred in the fourth quarter of 2024, and its capital was increased to 30 billion won, up from 29 billion won when Bithumb Meta was established.
Bithumb now owns 100% of the shares, as previous investors in Bithumb Meta, including LG CNS, CJ OliveNetworks, and SK Square, liquidated their holdings in the second half of last year. Bithumb Meta, which focused on NFTs and the metaverse, failed to achieve significant results, causing investors to lose most of their money.
New Leadership and Focus on Short-Term Financial Activities
The leadership team has also been entirely restructured, with Im Tae-seong appointed as CEO. Key roles, including directors and auditors, are now filled by Bithumb executives and employees, ensuring stronger alignment with the parent company’s goals. Additionally, Cho Hyun-sik, the founder of Bithumb Meta, and the entire Bithumb team have left. During the liquidation process, Choi Ma-yeol, a planning director at Bithumb Holdings, briefly served as CEO.
Unlike Bithumb Investment, which focuses on long-term investments in external companies, Bithumb Partners is tailored for short-term financial activities. So far, Bithumb has invested in convertible bonds of KOSDAQ-listed companies and businesses such as Iwin, Barunson, T&R Biofab, and Vidente.
Bithumb Partners Positioned for Growth Ahead of IPO
While Bithumb Partners is expected to focus on managing existing financial assets in the short term, there is potential for it to evolve into a larger player in the investment space. It may expand its scope and adopt roles either as a strategic investor, aligning investments with the company’s long-term objectives, or as a financial investor, prioritizing returns. A spokesperson stated:
“Since it takes a lot of time to create a new corporation and liquidate the existing corporation, we changed Bithumb Meta to Bithumb Partners. Bithumb Partners will manage assets currently held by Bithumb, such as stocks and bonds, and invest in short-term financial products.”
This move comes as Bithumb prepares for its IPO, following an announcement to launch the IPO in 2025. Creating an investment-focused subsidiary is likely part of efforts to streamline its structure and finances for the IPO. Industry observers note similarities between this development and a spin-off plan announced by Bithumb in 2023, which aimed to establish a new investment-focused company. Although that plan was withdrawn, Bithumb Partners appears to fulfill a similar role, positioning the company for growth in both the cryptocurrency and traditional financial markets.
“When Bithumb formalized its spin-off, it came up with a system of an exchange-centered surviving corporation and a new investment corporation, so the launch of this investment subsidiary seems to be somewhat related. Attention is focused on what changes Bithumb, which announced an IPO this year , will pursue, such as establishing a subsidiary,” a spokesperson revealed.
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Bithumb Meta Rebranded to Bithumb Partners as Part of Strategic Shift