South Korea-based cryptocurrency trade Bithumb reportedly made an operational mistake that led to the unintended deposit of huge quantities of Bitcoin to consumer accounts throughout a promotional occasion.
The trade had deliberate to distribute small money rewards by a “Random Field” occasion at round 6 p.m. native time. Winners had been purported to obtain between 20,000 and 50,000 Korean gained.
As an alternative, workers reportedly entered the cost unit as Bitcoin moderately than gained.
In consequence, some customers obtained at the very least 2,000 BTC every, value roughly 196 billion gained per individual based mostly on costs close to 98 million gained per Bitcoin on the time, in accordance with social media screenshots and accounts.
Earlier at the moment, Bithumb stated it by accident despatched an extra of bitcoin to “some clients.”
Some recipients reportedly bought the mistakenly credited cash, inflicting non permanent value dislocations on the platform.
Bitcoin on Bithumb reportedly fell greater than 10% beneath broader market ranges throughout the incident.
“We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience brought about to our clients because of the confusion that arose throughout the cost course of for this occasion,” the trade stated in an announcement posted Friday.
Bithumb stated it “instantly acknowledged the irregular transaction by its inner management system and promptly restricted transactions for the related account.”
The trade didn’t disclose how a lot Bitcoin was mistakenly distributed or what number of accounts had been affected. It stated its “domino liquidation prevention system” prevented extra extreme chain liquidations tied to an “irregular bitcoin value.”
Bithumb additionally emphasised that the incident was unrelated to any exterior hacking or safety breach.
“It’s understood that this incident didn’t lead to any loss or harm to buyer belongings,” the corporate stated.
This can be a growing story.
Large bitcoin value drops on Bithumb
All this alleged exercise occurred as bitcoin suffered one in every of its most dramatic selloffs in historical past Thursday, slicing by key assist ranges and triggering a wave of compelled liquidations.
Bitcoin Journal Professional information reveals that BTC plunged to $60,000 yesterday, marking the biggest uncooked greenback drawdown ever recorded and leaving the worth roughly 50% beneath its October 2025 all-time excessive above $126,000.
The decline now ranks amongst Bitcoin’s most excessive corrections, surpassing even the promoting seen across the FTX collapse as broader threat markets weakened.
The transfer was intensified by leverage, with greater than $1.1 billion in derivatives positions liquidated after assist close to $70,000 broke and accelerated the slide into the $60,000 vary.
On the time of writing, Bitcoin is buying and selling above $69,000.
