bithumb

📅 February 6 - South Korea | What seemed like a simple promotional event ended up becoming one of the most surreal episodes in the recent crypto market. Bithumb, one of the largest exchanges in South Korea, accidentally sent bitcoin to some users, causing a sharp drop in the price of BTC on the platform, frozen accounts, and the immediate intervention of financial authorities.

📖The incident occurred during a “Random Box” event, where Bithumb planned to give away prizes of up to 50,000 Korean won. According to local reports, some users who were supposed to receive just 2,000 won (about $1.36) ended up receiving 2,000 BTC, equivalent to approximately $139 million at the time.
The error was quickly detected by the exchange's internal system, which blocked the affected accounts and limited transactions to prevent a larger domino effect.
Although Bithumb did not disclose how many bitcoins were sent or how many accounts were affected, the impact was immediate. The BTC/KRW pair plummeted by around 15% on the exchange, an extreme anomaly compared to the global price.
Local media outlets such as the Chosun Daily reported that approximately 3 billion won were withdrawn after the bitcoin received in error was sold before the total freeze.
The company was quick to clarify two key points: it was not a hack or an external security breach, and its so-called "on-chain liquidation prevention system" prevented the price distortion from triggering further massive liquidations.
Even so, the reputational damage had already been done. On social media, several affected users reported that their accounts were blocked without prior notice, increasing the tension.
The case quickly escalated to the regulatory level. The Financial Services Commission and the Financial Supervisory Service confirmed they will open a formal investigation, classifying the incident as serious due to the potential magnitude of the damage.
Although Bithumb assured that there were no losses to customer assets, the mere fact that an operational error could move the price of Bitcoin within a top-tier exchange set off alarm bells.

Topic Opinion:
The crypto narrative often focuses on hackers and external attacks, but human and internal system errors remain one of the biggest risks. Automation without robust controls can be as dangerous as an exploit. Market maturity isn't just measured by volume or regulation, but by the ability to handle failures without jeopardizing trust.
💬 Should regulators further tighten operational controls?

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#bitcoin #BTC #Bithumb #exchanges #CryptoNews $BTC

Bithumb accidentally distributed 2,000 BTC to users instead of $1.50 rewards 🚨
Here’s what actually happened:
On February 6, 2026, around 10:30 UTC, Bithumb ran a “Random Box” promotional event.
The reward was supposed to be 2,000 KRW.
(Around $1.50)
Instead, an internal operational mistake credited a total of 2,000 BTC across hundreds of user accounts.
That’s ~$130 million.
People immediately started selling.
And the BTC price on Bithumb crashed almost instantly.
At the exact moment of the incident:
Bithumb BTC/KRW dropped to around $60,252
Global Bitcoin price stayed near $65,359
A 7–10% gap.
But there are no TXIDs.
No blockchain movement showing 2,000 BTC leaving Bithumb wallets.
Nothing.
It was an internal ledger credit.
Basically, Bithumb’s database told users they had Bitcoin.
But the Bitcoin network never saw it.
- Internal paper BTC shock
Users could sell the credited “BTC” inside Bithumb’s order book.
So selling pressure exploded inside their closed system.
Market makers got overwhelmed.
Liquidity disappeared.
Price crashed.
But withdrawals and arbitrage couldn’t fix it fast because:
- accounts were frozen
- withdrawals were blocked
- Korean exchanges are more isolated by regulation
So the crash stayed trapped inside Bithumb.
- Bithumb response
Bithumb quickly froze affected accounts.
But who eats the loss?
Some reports claim Bithumb holds around 46,000 BTC in reserves.
(But that number is not verified at all)
If it was true, then 2,000 BTC would be about 4% of reserves.
#Bithumb #crashmarket #iran
Big mistake.