- Bithumb system error credited excess Bitcoin and caused a brief BTC KRW price drop on the exchange market activity.
- Phantom Bitcoin balances appeared only in internal ledgers and triggered rapid selling before controls stopped trading.
- Regulators review Bithumb processes after a giveaway error led to frozen accounts and short lived market volatility.
South Korea-based crypto exchange Bithumb mistakenly credited excess Bitcoin to some customer accounts. The error disrupted prices on its Bitcoin Korean won market.
The exchange confirmed it detected abnormal transactions through internal monitoring systems. It then restricted trading on affected accounts. Bithumb said the incident did not involve hacking or an external security breach.
The exchange did not disclose the exact Bitcoin amount sent by mistake. It also did not confirm how many accounts received incorrect balances. However, local reports described the impact as significant.
Pricing Error Triggers Sudden Market Disruption
Following the mistaken crediting, several users attempted immediate sales. As a result, the BTC/KRW trading pair dropped sharply on the platform. Prices fell roughly 15% compared with other exchanges. At one point, Bitcoin traded far below global market levels. The price briefly reached around 81 million won while other venues remained stable. The price gap narrowed within minutes.
Bithumb stated its liquidation prevention system functioned as designed. The mechanism helped stop forced liquidations from spreading across the platform. Consequently, the price stabilized quickly. The exchange said inflated balances existed only inside its internal ledger. No Bitcoin moved onchain during the incident. Therefore, the supply on public blockchains remained unchanged.
Giveaway Event Linked to the Mistake
Local media linked the incident to a promotional Random Box giveaway event. Bithumb planned to distribute rewards worth up to 50,000 Korean won. Winners were expected to receive small cash equivalents.
Instead, a technical failure reportedly caused some accounts to receive massive Bitcoin balances. Reports claimed some users meant to receive about 2,000 won saw balances reflecting thousands of Bitcoin.
These balances appeared briefly and triggered aggressive selling. As trading activity surged, volatility increased across the BTC/KRW pair. The error amplified market stress inside the platform.
Authorities reported that roughly 3 billion won was withdrawn after the Bitcoin sales. Regulators described the situation as serious. They announced a review of the incident and its underlying cause.
Account Restrictions and User Impact
Soon after detection, Bithumb froze trading on the affected accounts. Some users later reported account restrictions on social media. The exchange said these steps aimed to protect overall market stability.
Bithumb maintained that customer assets remained safe throughout the event. It also stated the issue did not result in permanent losses to customer funds.
Founded in 2014, Bithumb ranks among South Korea’s largest crypto exchanges. The incident highlighted risks tied to internal system errors. It also showed how quickly localized price distortions can form during operational failures. The exchange said prices normalized within about five minutes. Trading resumed after internal checks.
