$44 Billion Blunder: Bithumb Accidentally Floods User Wallets with Bitcoin and Desperately Wants It Back
South Korean crypto exchange Bithumb is facing a costly embarrassment after the exchange mistakenly send Bitcoin to 695 user accounts, with the total value of erroneous transfers estimated at roughly $44 billion as promotional reward last Friday¹.
Bithumb swiftly suspended all Bitcoin withdrawals and issued a statement acknowledging the irregularity, assuring users that platform funds remain secure and that all affected transactions have been flagged. Furthermore, the exchange has since reached out to recipients individually, requesting voluntary returns, and has successfully recovered 99% of the erroneously transferred Bitcoin.
The mistake quickly went viral across Korean social media, with users sharing screenshots of unexpected BTC deposits. Legal experts warn that recipients who knowingly withdrew the mistaken funds could face charges of unjust enrichment under South Korean law. South Korea’s Financial Services Commission has been notified, and regulators may investigate whether Bithumb violated the country’s Act on the Protection of Virtual Asset Users, which mandates strict internal controls and timely incident reporting.
This isn’t the first time a crypto platform has made such a costly mistake. In 2022, Crypto.com accidentally sent $10.5 million to a customer instead of a $100 refund, while Compound Finance’s 2021 bug distributed roughly $90 million in excess tokens. Bithumb itself has a history of security breaches, having lost over $50 million in hacks between 2018 and 2019.
The broader crypto market appeared unfazed, with Bitcoin holding steady near $70,000 as it continues its recovery from last week’s dramatic plunge to $60,000. Still, the episode reinforces a familiar mantra among self-custody advocates: “Not your keys, not your coins.”
Bithumb will continue to release a post-incident report to provide full transparency to affected users and the broader public. The report is expected to detail the root cause of the incident, the scope of its impact, and the corrective measures being implemented to prevent future occurrences.
Users and stakeholders are encouraged to visit Bithumb’s official announcements page for the latest updates and developments: https://feed.bithumb.com/notice.
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