Bithumb designates Xai (XAI) as a trading caution asset, citing inadequate disclosure

South Korean crypto exchange Bithumb designated Xai (XAI), the token of a gaming-focused blockchain, as a trading caution asset on Oct. 7. In a notice posted at noon KST, Bithumb said it judged that "disclosure of material information that allows the actual progress of the crypto-related business to be verified is inadequate." XAI deposits were suspended at the same time, and the exchange will announce during the fourth week of October (Oct. 19-23) whether to extend the designation, lift it or end trading support.

Bithumb cites inadequate disclosure

Bithumb said the decision was made under its own trading caution designation policy, which follows decisions by its trading support review committee in line with industry best practices for crypto trading support. The notice cited Article 17, subparagraph 1(e) of the Enforcement Decree of Korea's Virtual Asset User Protection Act as the legal basis. It also said the designation can be lifted if the grounds are resolved during the designation period.

Xai is a blockchain built for games using Arbitrum technology. According to the Xai Foundation's official documentation, XAI is used to pay network fees (gas), is paid as a reward to nodes that validate transactions, and is accepted as payment for games and in-game items. Its maximum supply is set at 2.5 billion tokens. The total supply table in the official documentation lists 2.01 billion XAI and 191 million esXAI, a reward token, as of Oct. 28, 2025.

According to Bithumb's standing guidance on trading caution designations, the issuer of a designated token discusses with Bithumb how to resolve the grounds for the designation and protect investors, and the exchange then decides whether to lift the designation or end trading support. Bithumb wrote in the guidance that "designation as a trading caution asset does not mean the end of trading support."

On the same day, Bithumb lifted the trading caution designation on Hemi (HEMI), saying it judged that "the grounds for the designation have been resolved," and said HEMI deposits would resume at 4 p.m. KST on Oct. 7. Earlier, on Oct. 3, it designated Blast (BLAST) as a trading caution asset.

60 million XAI traded in the hour after the notice

On Bithumb's Korean won market, XAI fell as low as 11.73 won in the 11 a.m. KST hour on Oct. 7, just before the notice. In the noon hour, when the notice was posted, it opened at 12.32 won, rose as high as 14.35 won and closed the hour at 12.85 won. About 60.11 million XAI changed hands in that hour, more than the daily volume on any day from Sept. 27 to Oct. 6 (4.41 million to 34.7 million). Daily volume on Oct. 7 (midnight-to-midnight KST) was 96.02 million XAI, with the price opening at 13.31 won and closing at 12.52 won.

The drop just before the notice also occurred overseas at the same time. On Binance, XAI fell from $0.0094 to as low as $0.00864 in the 11 a.m. KST hour before closing the hour at $0.00911, with 40.95 million tokens traded. In the noon hour it moved between $0.00894 and $0.00931 and closed at $0.00911, the same level it opened at. Binance XAI traded between $0.0086 and $0.0102 from Oct. 1 to Oct. 7.

Not listed on Upbit; Bithumb price about 4% above global markets

XAI is not listed on Upbit's Korean won market. At 10:30 a.m. KST on Oct. 8, XAI traded at 12.74 won on Bithumb. At the same time, the Binance price was $0.00914, down 5.5% from a day earlier, or about 12.24 won when converted using Coinyong's price aggregation. The kimchi premium (the gap between prices on Korean exchanges and global markets) was about 4.1% based on Bithumb. Bithumb's XAI trading value over the past 24 hours was about 1.24 billion won.