South Korean crypto exchange accidentally sends $40 billion in Bitcoin (BTC), briefly making some users millionaires - here’s how Bithumb is compensating

cryptocurrency trading mistake compensation: For a brief moment, hundreds of customers on a South Korean crypto exchange woke up to balances that looked more like lottery wins than routine rewards.

Cryptocurrency Trading: Bithumb Error Sends $40 Billion Worth of Bitcoin to Users

Bithumb, one of South Korea’s cryptocurrency platforms, accidentally sent out more than $40 billion worth of bitcoin after a simple rewards payout went wildly wrong. The exchange had intended to credit users with 2,000 won, about $1.37, but instead mistakenly distributed 2,000 bitcoins per account, as per a report.

How 695 Customers Briefly Become Crypto Millionaires

The error briefly turned 695 customers into paper multi-millionaires before the platform caught the mistake. Bithumb said it realized what had happened quickly and froze trading and withdrawals within 35 minutes to prevent further movement of the funds, as per a BBC report.


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Bithumb Recovers 99.7% of Mistakenly Sent BTC USD

According to the company, 620,000 bitcoins were mistakenly sent in total, and 99.7% of those tokens were recovered shortly after. Bithumb emphasized that the incident was not caused by hacking or a security breach.

Crypto Exchange Denies Hacking or Security Breach

Bithumb said, "We want to make it clear that this matter has nothing to do with external hacking or security breaches, and there is no problem with system security or customer asset management," as quoted by BBC.

South Korea Regulator Reviews Incident After Emergency Meeting

South Korea’s Financial Supervisory Service took notice of Bithumb's incident. During an emergency meeting on Saturday, the regulator said it would review the incident and launch formal investigations if any illegal activity is uncovered.

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Bithumb CEO Promises Focus on Customer Trust

Bithumb pledged full cooperation with regulators and said the mistake would prompt internal changes. Chief executive Lee Jae-won said, "[We] will take this accident as a lesson and prioritise 'customer trust and peace of mind' rather than external growth," as quoted by BBC.

Bithumb: Compensation Announced for All Active Users

To make amends, Bithumb announced it would compensate all users active on the platform at the time with 20,000 won (about $13.66), waive trading fees, and roll out additional safeguards.

AI and Stronger Verification Planned After Costly Mistake

The crypto exchange said it plans to strengthen verification systems and introduce AI tools to help detect abnormal transactions, as per the BBC report.

FAQs

How much bitcoin was mistakenly distributed?

About 620,000 bitcoins, worth more than $40 billion.



What changes is Bithumb planning after this error?

The exchange plans to improve verification systems and introduce AI to spot abnormal transactions.