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| South Korean Crypto Exchange Bithumb Mistakenly Sends KSh 5.16 Trillion in Bitcoin to Users.Photo/Coutersy |
SEOUL, South Korea — South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb apologised on Saturday after mistakenly transferring more than $40 billion (KSh 5.16 trillion) worth of bitcoin to users, briefly triggering a selloff on the platform.
The error, which occurred Friday, affected 695 users when the platform accidentally sent roughly 2,000 bitcoins per user instead of the intended promotional amount of 2,000 won ($1.37) per person. Bithumb blocked trading and withdrawals within 35 minutes of discovering the mistake.
“We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience caused to our customers due to the confusion that occurred during the distribution process of this [promotional] event,” Bithumb said in a statement Saturday.
The exchange reported that it successfully recovered 99.7% of the mistakenly sent bitcoins and pledged to cover the remaining losses using its own assets.
The incident briefly caused sharp volatility in bitcoin prices on the platform, with some recipients selling the tokens immediately. Prices fell as much as 17% to 81.1 million won before stabilising within five minutes.
Bithumb emphasised that the incident was not related to hacking or any security breach. Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency, has been experiencing volatility this week, wiping out gains made following former US President Donald Trump’s 2024 election victory.
