{"id":6462,"date":"2026-02-09T09:26:37","date_gmt":"2026-02-09T09:26:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/?p=6462"},"modified":"2026-02-09T09:26:37","modified_gmt":"2026-02-09T09:26:37","slug":"korean-crypto-exchange-accidentally-gives-away-40bn-in-bitcoin-triggers-brief-market-chaos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/?p=6462","title":{"rendered":"Korean Crypto Exchange Accidentally Gives Away $40bn in Bitcoin, Triggers Brief Market Chaos"},"content":{"rendered":"

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  • Bithumb mistakenly credited hundreds of users with $40 billion in \u201cphantom\u201d Bitcoin after an employee entered \u201cBTC\u201d instead of \u201cKRW\u201d for a $1.40 reward.<\/span><\/li>\n
  • The error caused a 16% flash crash on the exchange as users rushed to sell, though 99.7% of the funds were recovered within minutes.<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Bithumb will cover the remaining $9 million loss using corporate funds while facing an on-site inspection from South Korean regulators.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

    Well, just by looking at the title, this is one of those stories where we surely know someone is in deep trouble after screwing up badly.<\/p>\n

    This time, leading Korean exchange Bithumb said it will use its own funds to cover about US$9 million (AU$13 million) in losses after an internal error during a promotional payout briefly credited customers with a combined US$40 billion (AU$61 billion) worth of Bitcoin (BTC) on its platform.<\/p>\n

    That\u2019s right; probably the best airdrop ever for a few lucky individuals, but unfortunately for them it only lasted for a few minutes, as Bithumb froze the funds, and had to convince the users to manually return the BTC.<\/p>\n

    Read more: House Democrats Probe Trump-Linked Crypto Firm Over $500M UAE Investment<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Fat Fingers?<\/h2>\n

    The incident stemmed from a \u201cRandom Box\u201d giveaway meant to distribute small rewards of 2,000 Korean won (worth approximately US$1.40 or AU$1.99) to each user. Instead, due to a configuration error, Bitcoin was selected as the payout unit, causing some users to be credited with Bitcoin worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, rather than small cash-equivalent rewards.\u00a0<\/p>\n

    The \u201cBitcoin\u201d, at least on paper, did not move on-chain. Bithumb characterised the event as phantom balances created in its internal ledger, which nonetheless appeared in user accounts and could be used to place orders before controls were applied.\u00a0<\/p>\n

    Some recipients attempted to sell immediately, and a small number reportedly liquidated or swapped into other cryptocurrencies, including Ether, before restrictions took effect.<\/p>\n

    The rush to sell triggered a brief dislocation in Bithumb\u2019s BTC\/KRW market.\u00a0<\/p>\n

    BTC prices on the exchange fell about 15.8% below other venues, with BTC trading as low as 81 million won, or about US$55K (AU$84K), while broader market prices were relatively stable. Bithumb said prices normalised in roughly five minutes.<\/p>\n

    Bithumb then claimed it detected abnormal transactions through internal controls and restricted trading in affected accounts shortly after. It added that its liquidation-prevention system worked as intended and prevented forced-liquidation cascades linked to the temporary price move.<\/p>\n

    South Korean financial regulators have launched an on-site inspection, according to local reports, amid scrutiny over internal processes and reports that the exchange had been close to implementing a system designed to prevent the type of error that occurred.\u00a0<\/p>\n

    Related: Bitcoin Slump Hits Saylor\u2019s Strategy at the Worst Possible Moment<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

    Bithumb,Crypto Exchange#Korean #Crypto #Exchange #Accidentally #40bn #Bitcoin #Triggers #Market #Chaos1770629197<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Bithumb mistakenly credited hundreds of users with $40 billion in \u201cphantom\u201d Bitcoin after an employee entered \u201cBTC\u201d instead of \u201cKRW\u201d for a $1.40 reward. The error caused a 16% flash crash on the exchange as users rushed to sell, though 99.7% of the funds were recovered within minutes. Bithumb will cover the remaining $9 million<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6463,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[2334,2333,91,2037,62,89,1137,43,807],"class_list":{"0":"post-6462","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-bitcoin","8":"tag-40bn","9":"tag-accidentally","10":"tag-bitcoin","11":"tag-chaos","12":"tag-crypto","13":"tag-exchange","14":"tag-korean","15":"tag-market","16":"tag-triggers"},"yoast_head":"\nKorean Crypto Exchange Accidentally Gives Away $40bn in Bitcoin, Triggers Brief Market Chaos - Crypto News: Latest Cryptocurrency News and Analysis<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/?p=6462\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Korean Crypto Exchange Accidentally Gives Away $40bn in Bitcoin, Triggers Brief Market Chaos\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Bithumb mistakenly credited hundreds of users with $40 billion in \u201cphantom\u201d Bitcoin after an employee entered \u201cBTC\u201d instead of \u201cKRW\u201d for a $1.40 reward. 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