On February 6, 2026, a staff error at Bithumb credited 695 customers with a total of 620,000 BTCâapproximately $42 billionârather than the intended 620,000 KRW ($423) prize pool. The mistake, caused by entering promotional amounts in BTC instead of KRW, became visible within minutes as hundreds of BTC appeared in user accounts.
Bithumb detected the error after 35 minutes and froze trading and withdrawals for affected accounts, by which time 86 users had sold or withdrawn around 1,788 BTC at prices 15â17% below global averages. The exchange swiftly reversed internal ledger entries, recovering 99.7% of the phantom balances. However, about 125 BTCâvalued at roughly $9 millionâremained unreturned after some users withdrew or converted the funds.
The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) and parliament launched investigations into Bithumbâs internal controls and anti-money-laundering practices. FSS Governor Lee Chan-jin described the incident as âcatastrophicâ and criticized insufficient system safeguards. Legal experts noted that Korean law treats crypto assets differently from property, complicating potential criminal charges. Bithumb apologized, committed to redesigning payment processes and enhancing control systems, and engaged in one-on-one talks urging voluntary returns to avoid civil litigation.
This operational lapse underscores systemic risks in exchange ledger management and has reignited calls for stricter oversight and exchange security standards. Market participants await policy responses that may include mandatory insurance, real-time auditing, and enhanced fail-safes to prevent future âfat-fingerâ events.
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