- Bithumb mistakenly sent 2,000 BTC instead of a $1 bonus to users.
- The exchange recovered 99.7% of the wrongly credited Bitcoins.
- South Korean regulators plan stricter checks after the incident.
Bithumb, a major cryptocurrency exchange in South Korea, recently made a costly mistake while trying to give customers a small cash reward. Instead of sending 2,000 won, about $1.37, the platform accidentally credited 2,000 Bitcoins to hundreds of users, briefly turning them into millionaires on paper. The total value of the mistaken transfers crossed $40 billion.
Soon after the incident, the company responded to the error, restricting trading. Within 35 minutes, the platform blocked withdrawals for 695 affected accounts. Bethumb later stated that it recovered 99.7% of the 620,000 BTCs that were mistakenly sent and clarified that the incident was not related to hacking or a security breach.
South Korea’s financial regulator has also taken note of the situation, and the exchange has said it will fully cooperate and treat the incident as a lesson going forward.
What Exactly Went Wrong at Bithumb?
According to a BBC report today, the South Korean exchange, Bithumb, accidentally sent out more than $40 billion worth of BTC to customers, briefly turning many of them into multi-millionaires.
The company had actually planned to give a small reward of $2,000 won, translated into $1.37. But due to an error, some users received 2,000 BTC instead on Friday.
Bithumb later apologized for the mistake, saying it quickly noticed the issue and managed to recover almost all of the wrongly sent funds. The platform also restricted trading and withdrawals for 695 affected accounts within 35 minutes to prevent further movement of the tokens. As per reports, Bithumb recovered 99.7% of the 620,000 BTCs mistakenly sent. The platform later clarified the incident, stating,
“We want to make it clear that this matter has nothing to do with external hacking or security breaches, and there is no problem with system security or customer asset management.”
South Korea Tightens Oversight after Bithumb Incident
South Korea’s financial regulators, including the Financial Services Commission (FSC), stated that the Bithumb incident has once again highlighted the risks and weak points in the crypto industry. Officials noted that mistakes like this can affect investor confidence and show why stronger monitoring of crypto platforms is important.
After holding an emergency meeting, regulators stated they would closely review Bithumb’s internal control system, asset management, and overall operations. If they fund anything unusual, they may carry out on-site inspections not only at Bithumb but also at other crypto exchanges in the country.
Bithumb also promised to support the regulator’s investigation. CEO Lee Jae-won noted, “[We] will take this accident as a lesson and prioritise ‘customer trust and peace of mind’ rather than external growth.”
The company has also reportedly vowed to compensate affected customers with 20,000 won ($13,66). The platform is also planning to improve verification systems and introduce AI tools to detect suspicious transactions.
South Korea already has some of the strictest crypto rules in place to protect investors and prevent financial crimes. For instance, exchanges are required to follow strong compliance measures, including identity verification, security checks, and regular reporting. Following this incident, authorities are expected to pay even closer attention to how platforms manage user funds and handle internal systems to avoid similar mistakes in the future.
