South Korean Crypto Firm Bithumb Accidentally Gives Away $40bn in Bitcoin
In a major blunder, South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb accidentally gave away over $40 billion worth of bitcoin to its customers as promotional rewards, causing a sharp sell-off on the exchange. Bithumb stated that it has managed to recover virtually all the missing tokens from customers, with 99.7 percent of the 620,000 bitcoin, approximately valued at $44 billion, retrieved.
Background
The company had initially planned to distribute small rewards of 2,000 Korean won or more ($1.37) to each user as part of a promotional event. However, due to an employee's error, users instead received at least 2,000 bitcoins each, according to media reports.
The Incident and Its Aftermath
The incident, which took place on Friday, was controlled within 35 minutes as the company restricted trading and withdrawals for the 695 affected customers. Despite the quick intervention, the incident triggered a sharp sell-off on the exchange. An employee's misspelling reportedly led to this massive error, which has stirred concern within the crypto community, leading to speculations of a 'contained, but not resolved' crisis.
Bitcoin Market Reactions
The incident coincided with a substantial slump in the value of bitcoin, which fell to almost $60,000 on Friday morning, Hong Kong time, marking a decrease of more than half from its historical high of $124,000 in October 2025. The slump also erased $2 trillion from the overall digital asset market.
Despite the fall in bitcoin's value and the blunder at Bithumb, some retail investors in Hong Kong seized the opportunity to buy the digital asset at a lower price. According to CoinGecko, a crypto asset data tracker, dozens of residents were seen buying bitcoin amid the crypto crash.
Current Status
Bithumb, trying to downplay the incident, has assured that it has recovered almost all of the erroneously distributed bitcoins. The South Korean platform is now caught in a 'contained, but not resolved' crisis, as the crypto market continues to face turbulence. Bitcoin's value has been on a downward spiral since last October, with its fall compounded by the recent incident at Bithumb.
Despite the volatility and recent issues, the crypto market has managed to retain the attention of investors worldwide. Bitcoin's performance in the coming weeks will be crucial in determining the future of the digital asset market, especially in the wake of these recent developments.