South Korea’s prominent crypto exchange, Bithumb, recently announced a strategic partnership with World Liberty Financial (WLF), a venture associated with the Trump organization. The collaboration, formalized through a memorandum of understanding on Monday at Bithumb Financial Tower in Seoul, aims to bolster global growth in decentralized finance (DeFi) and explore innovative business opportunities in this burgeoning sector.
Bithumb’s CEO, Lee Jae-won, emphasized the importance of this partnership, stating that it represents a “significant milestone” in enhancing the exchange’s global competitiveness. He noted the commitment to further strengthen Bithumb’s strategic network, a sentiment echoed by WLF co-founder Zak Folkman and other executives from both firms during the signing event.
The partnership is viewed as a potential game-changer, particularly for retail investors who have been cautious about venturing into cryptocurrencies due to concerns over market volatility and the regulatory landscape. By merging Bithumb’s technical prowess with WLF’s strategic outlook, the collaboration is expected to accelerate the creation and acceptance of new DeFi products.
This relationship follows a meeting between Lee and Eric Trump—WLF’s co-founder and the son of former President Donald Trump—during the Hong Kong Bitcoin Asia 2025 event in August. Their discussions highlighted the mutual interest in expanding crypto offerings and improving investor sentiment towards cryptocurrencies.
In addition to this partnership with WLF, Bithumb has also been exploring strategic collaborations with Circle, a prominent stablecoin issuer, as part of its ongoing global expansion efforts.
However, Bithumb has faced challenges in the form of regulatory scrutiny. The South Korean financial authorities have raised alarms over local exchanges related to crypto lending and margin trading services, specifically citing concerns about high-leverage trading practices. In response, Bithumb is scaling back its crypto lending services, reducing its leverage ratio from 4x to 2x.
Adding to the exchange’s challenges, Bithumb experienced a system outage earlier this month, lasting approximately 100 minutes, leading to customer frustration. The company has pledged to compensate the affected users.
As Bithumb navigates these hurdles while simultaneously seeking to expand its global reach, the partnership with WLF could provide a crucial avenue for attracting a broader investor base and establishing new markets in the dynamic DeFi landscape.
