The Korea Consumer Agency's Consumer Dispute Mediation Committee has initiated collective dispute mediation against the cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb after it refused to pay grants to participants in an event due to the late addition of new conditions. The agency announced that this decision was made on March 5 and comes in response to a complaint regarding grant payments linked to the Bithumb API integration event, which offered full fee rebates and a 100,000 KRW grant to new users starting from November 10 of last year.

Initially, participants were enticed by the promotional event; however, Bithumb later added stipulations that excluded users engaging solely in one-off transactions aimed at gaining event benefits, leading to the denial of funds for some consumers. The Consumer Agency received complaints and, to prevent further harm, gathered 77 consumers to apply for collective mediation. These consumers argue that they adhered to the originally stated conditions and are therefore entitled to the grant.

The mediation decision will be announced within 30 days after the public notification of the procedure's initiation (March 23), though it may be extended twice if justified. The Consumer Agency plans to ensure that if Bithumb accepts the mediation outcome, a compensation proposal will be developed to include all affected consumers, even those who didn't join the mediation process. Chairman Yang Yong-ho has emphasized the growing societal concern regarding the trustworthiness of cryptocurrency exchanges and the need for swift and reasonable mediation outcomes.