Bithumb confirms reward payout error after abnormal Bitcoin trades
Summary
A South Korean exchange reported that an internal error during a promotional event caused temporary price dislocations, assuring users that no customer assets were affected. This incident highlights the importance of robust systems in cryptocurrency trading.
Key Insights
What exactly caused the abnormal Bitcoin trades on Bithumb?
During a 'Random Box' or 'lucky box' promotional event, Bithumb staff intended to distribute rewards of 2,000 Korean won (about $1.50) to winners but mistakenly entered the payout unit as BTC instead of KRW, crediting hundreds of users with 2,000 Bitcoin each, which led to immediate selling and a temporary price crash.[1][2][5]
Were customer assets affected, and what measures did Bithumb take?
No customer assets were lost as the Bitcoin was credited internally without on-chain movement; Bithumb quickly restricted affected accounts, blocked deposits/withdrawals, and recovered about 400,000 BTC from 160 users, with markets stabilizing within minutes.[1][2][4][5][8]