Vidente discusses sale of Bithumb stake with FTX

An electronic display shows cryptocurrency prices at a Bithumb office in southern Seoul on July 18. [YONHAP]

Bithumb Holdings' largest shareholder is in talks over a possible sale of its stake to the FTX cryptocurrency derivative exchange.

Vidente, the largest shareholder of Bithumb Holdings, which runs Bithumb crypto exchange, “contacted and negotiated with the FTX over disposal of equity securities,” it reported in a regulatory filing on Tuesday.

“But it is an ongoing matter, and nothing specific on sales conditions or date have been confirmed at this point,” it said.

Vidente owns 34.22 percent of Bithumb Holdings, which owns 73.56 percent of Bithumb Korea.

Bithumb is one of the largest crypto exchanges in Korea. It processed over $500 million in trades in a single day at its peak, according to CoinGecko.

Founded in 2019 by Sam Bankman-Fried, FTX has around 1.2 million users.

Vidente said it is "reviewing the case with all possibilities," including joint management.

FTX has been aggressively taking over companies amid a crypto meltdown.

It signed a deal that gave it the option to buy crypto lending firm BlockFi for a maximum price of $240 million last month. That figure is far lower than the company’s previous $4.8 billion valuation.

Vidente reported 4.55 billion won ($3.5 million) in net profit in the first quarter of this year, down 95 percent on year. Sales were up 288 percent in the same period to 9.24 billion won.

BY JIN MIN-JI [jin.minji@joongang.co.kr]