South Korean crypto exchange Bithumb dismisses ‘listing fee’ claims

Bithumb — South Korea’s second-largest crypto exchange — has rubbished claims that it is charging token issuers fees to list their coins on its platform, according to a report by CoinDesk Korea.

Fast facts:

• Media outlet MBC News reported on Monday that Bithumb was requiring token issuers to pay more than US$90,000 for “listing developments” and “management,” citing copies of Bithumb’s listing agreements.

• Bithumb told Coindesk that the term “listing fee” referred to money an exchange or a broker required from a cryptocurrency issuer in exchange for listing its token. Bithumb says on its website that it “does not ask for a listing fee under any pretext, and all rumors about listing fees are not true.”

• A Bithumb official said: “It is different from the listing fee because it is a fee for development and operation such as system linkage just before the actual listing.”

• Allegations that some Korean exchanges have been charging listing fees had been circulating for some time before a leaked contract between crypto rating service Xangle and a token issuer appeared to corroborate those claims. According to the contract, Xangle charged for “listing management services,” suggesting that it had been operating as a de facto broker between altcoin projects and virtual asset trading platforms.