Korean Crypto Exchange Bithumb Accidentally Gives Away Millions in Bitcoin During Promotion

TLDR

• Bithumb accidentally sent excess Bitcoin to customers during a promotional “Random Box” event in South Korea
• Some users reportedly received 2,000 BTC ($139.4 million) instead of 2,000 Korean won ($1.36) in rewards
• Recipients sold the mistakenly credited Bitcoin, causing a 15% price drop on the exchange’s BTC/KRW trading pair
• Bithumb froze affected accounts within minutes and prevented chain liquidations through internal controls
• The exchange confirmed no customer assets were lost and the error was not related to hacking or security breaches

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South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb experienced an internal error on February 6 that resulted in customers receiving excess Bitcoin during a promotional event. The mistake caused temporary price disruptions on the platform before the exchange intervened.

The incident occurred during a “Random Box” giveaway event where Bithumb planned to distribute up to 50,000 Korean won to winners. According to local reports, some recipients who were supposed to receive 2,000 Korean won (approximately $1.36) instead received 2,000 Bitcoin, valued at roughly $139.4 million at current prices.

Bithumb did not disclose the exact amount of Bitcoin mistakenly distributed or the number of accounts affected. The exchange confirmed the error in a company announcement on Friday.

Some users who received the erroneous Bitcoin deposits sold the coins on the platform. This activity caused the Bitcoin/Korean won trading pair to crash by approximately 15% on Bithumb.

The exchange’s internal control system detected the abnormal transactions quickly. Bithumb restricted transactions for the affected accounts within minutes of identifying the error.

The price stabilized shortly after the restrictions were put in place. Bithumb’s “domino liquidation prevention system” stopped more severe chain liquidations from occurring due to the price fluctuation.

Recovery and Investigation

South Korean financial authorities are treating the incident seriously. The Financial Services Commission and Financial Supervisory Service said they will thoroughly investigate the cause of the error.

Local reports indicate that approximately 3 billion Korean won had been withdrawn after users sold the mistakenly deposited Bitcoin. Some affected users posted on social media that their accounts were frozen following the incident.

Bithumb confirmed the error was unrelated to external hacking or security breaches. The exchange stressed that no customer assets were lost during the incident.

Trading, deposits, and withdrawals continue to operate normally on the platform. Customer funds remain safely managed according to the exchange’s statement.

Exchange Background

Founded in 2014, Bithumb is one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in South Korea. According to CoinGecko, the platform currently carries a trust score of 7 out of 10.

The exchange reported approximately $2.2 billion in 24-hour trading volume at the time of the incident. Bithumb apologized to customers for any inconvenience caused by the confusion during the payment process.

In January, Bithumb identified roughly $200 million in dormant customer assets spread across 2.6 million accounts that had been inactive for more than a year. This identification was part of a recovery campaign by the exchange.

Bithumb said it will transparently disclose follow-up actions to prevent similar errors from happening in future promotional events.

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