South Korea’s Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) has launched an investigation into the Bithumb cryptocurrency exchange for accidentally crediting users with non-existent 620.000 BTC (42,8 billion dollars) during a promotional event. The exchange admitted the error on Saturday, announcing that it had recovered most of the credited amount, but approximately 125 BTC (8,6 million dollars) remains unresolved. According to Yonhap News, the FSS described the incident as violations disrupting market order and stated it would impose strict legal sanctions.
Bithumb confirmed “incorrect payment” of 620,000 BTC on Saturday. Source: Bithumb
Details of Bithumb’s 620.000 BTC Crediting Error
The FSS flagged Bithumb’s discrepancies between wallet reserves and amounts reflected in user accounts, deficiencies in internal controls, and the error occurring due to a single employee’s input as violations. While Bithumb’s actual reserves are 41.798 BTC, according to CryptoQuant analyst Maartunn, 3.875 BTC (268 million dollars) was withdrawn from the exchange per on-chain data. The incident heightened operational risks in centralized exchanges and concerns about “paper Bitcoin.”
FSS Investigation and Legal Sanctions
The FSS, emphasizing that such errors could lead to market manipulation, is launching a comprehensive audit against Bithumb. Similar incidents highlight the proof-of-reserves requirement, frequently discussed on our BTC detailed analysis pages.
BTC Technical Analysis: Supports and Resistances
Current BTC price 68.925,89 USD (+0,10% 24s). RSI 32,11 (oversold), downtrend continues. Strong supports: S1 62.909 USD (-8,86%, ⭐ STRONG), S2 68.301 USD (-1,05%). Resistances: R1 71.981 USD (+4,28%). BTC futures show Supertrend bearish signal, no recovery expected above EMA 20: 77.325 USD.
ETF Flows and Binance SAFU Purchases
Despite the incident, BTC ETFs saw 144,9 million dollars net inflow on February 9 (Ethereum 57 million). Binance SAFU Fund added 4.225 BTC (299,6 million USD), bringing the total to 10.455 BTC (734 million USD). These flows reflect confidence in BTC alongside ETH market analysis.
Source: https://en.coinotag.com/bithumb-620k-btc-error-fss-investigation
