Bithumb Cuts Borrowing Caps by 80% as Lending Service Restarts

Bithumb reduced the maximum leverage on its crypto lending service from 4x to 2x and cut the borrowing limit by 80% to $145,000. The South Korean exchange launched the lending service in July but suspended it on July 29 due to insufficient lending volume before restarting it in August with the revised terms.

The exchange initially allowed users to borrow up to four times their posted collateral with a per-user limit of $726,000. The new cap applies to all users, including those classified as “qualified investors” who have more than $72 million in cumulative trading volume over the past three years.

Bithumb said it made the adjustments after reviewing the service during the July suspension. The company stated the revisions were intended to strengthen investor safeguards and improve service quality. The platform cited a comprehensive review of the product and its risk controls as the reason for the changes.

South Korean regulators formed a joint task force on July 31 to draft guidelines for virtual asset lending services. The task force includes the Financial Services Commission, the Financial Supervisory Service, and representatives from major domestic exchanges through the Digital Asset eXchange Alliance.

Officials asked platforms to reassess high-risk or legally ambiguous offerings. Regulators said they will draw on international standards and stock market rules as they prepare the lending framework. Leverage limits and transparency requirements are among the areas under discussion.

The timing of Bithumb’s changes coincides with increased regulatory scrutiny of crypto lending products in South Korea. The exchange’s original lending terms allowed borrowing at up to 4x leverage, which was higher than what many international platforms offer for similar products.