Bithumb, one of South Korea’s leading cryptocurrency exchanges, has reaped the rewards of its aggressive “marketing blitz” strategy. In 2024, the exchange spent an astounding ₩192.2 billion (~$140 million) on marketing — a 12-fold increase from the previous year. This bold move not only boosted market share but also turned the company profitable for the first time in years.
At the start of 2023, Bithumb’s domestic market share was in the low double digits. However, by January 2024, it had briefly surged to 36%, before stabilizing around 25%, firmly cementing Bithumb’s position as the second-largest exchange in Korea after Upbit.
Unlike traditional ad spending, Bithumb diversified its campaigns across digital media, outdoor advertising, sports sponsorships, and cultural content partnerships, targeting the MZ generation (Millennials + Gen Z). In Q1 of 2024 alone, Bithumb spent ₩96 billion on advertising, and ₩669 billion on promotional activities, totaling over ₩765 billion in marketing expenditures.
These efforts paid off in the company’s bottom line. While Bithumb posted ₩14.9 billion in operating losses and ₩24.3 billion in net losses in 2023, it rebounded sharply in 2024 with ₩496.3 billion in revenue, ₩130.7 billion in operating profit, and ₩161.8 billion in net profit.
Industry experts praised Bithumb’s approach as a structural improvement, not mere hype. “The strategy focused on building trust and long-term transaction volume, not just chasing short-term user spikes,” said one analyst.
