South Korea’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, Bithumb, stunned markets this week after accidentally crediting users with 620,000 bitcoins — a notional sum worth more than $44 billion at the time — during a routine promotional payout. The error, caused by an inputting mistake that used bitcoin as the unit instead of the intended Korean‑won amounts, briefly flooded the exchange with an implausible supply of the token and forced a rapid emergency response.
The mistake unfolded on the evening of February 6. Bithumb had intended to pay winners between 2,000 and 50,000 won (roughly RMB 9.5–237) but entered the unit as bitcoin. The platform halted trading for affected accounts at 19:35 local time and fully blocked related operations five minutes later, before recovering 99.7% of the mis‑sent coins. During the incident the exchange’s own bitcoin listing plunged as some recipients engaged in panic selling, with a temporary quoted price on Bithumb falling far below global markets.
Bithumb’s chief executive, Lee Jae‑won, pledged to compensate customers who suffered losses as a result of forced sell orders during the brief window, restoring full shortfalls and adding a 10% bonus. The company estimated customer losses of roughly 1 billion won by the afternoon after the incident and said it would use corporate assets to fill any remaining gaps in client balances. Seoul’s financial regulators responded by dispatching an on‑site inspection team to determine how the mistake occurred and whether any laws were broken.
The episode arrives against a fragile backdrop for cryptocurrency markets. Bitcoin has swung sharply over the past 12 months, rising from roughly $96,000 in early 2025 to a peak near $125,000 in October before falling back; prices hit around $60,000 on February 6 and recovered to roughly $69,000 two days later. The market sensitivity to exchange operational failures underscores how concentrated liquidity and thin order books on individual platforms can magnify localized errors into broader price moves.
Beyond the immediate market disruption, the incident carries policy resonance. Chinese regulators recently issued a unified notice classifying virtual‑currency business activities as illegal financial activities, reinforcing a global regulatory trend toward tighter oversight. For South Korean authorities already sensitized to exchange scandals and investor protection risks, the Bithumb error will likely sharpen calls for stronger operational controls, mandatory audits, and clearer liability rules for custodial platforms.
Operationally, the calamity is a reminder that custodial risk remains the Achilles’ heel of centralized cryptocurrency trading. Human error in back‑office processes, inadequate unit‑checking controls and insufficient real‑time monitoring all combine to create flashpoints that simple automation or market safeguards could have prevented. Even with the vast majority of coins recovered, reputational damage, potential fines and increased compliance costs are likely to be lasting consequences for Bithumb and its peers.
The broader takeaway for institutional and retail participants is twofold: exchanges must harden engineering and governance practices, and regulators are likely to press for enforceable standards around access controls, transaction limits and reserve transparency. Whether this incident results in new South Korean regulations or a wave of industry consolidation will depend on the findings of the incoming inspection and how other platforms demonstrate their operational resilience in response.