Bithumb $40 Billion Bitcoin Transfer Error

Shock Error from Bithumb: $40 Billion Bitcoin Transfer

The South Korea-based cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb announced that a sad error occurred last Friday, resulting in a total of 620,000 bitcoins, worth over $40 billion, being sent to 695 users. The error was detected within just 35 minutes, and trading and withdrawal operations for affected users were halted.

How Did the Wrong Transfer Occur?

According to local media reports, Bithumb intended to send each user approximately 2,000 won (about $1.37) as part of a promotional campaign. However, due to a bizarre mistake, about 2,000 bitcoins were sent per user.

Apology and Buyback Statement from Bithumb

Bithumb expressed in an official statement, "We sincerely apologize to our customers for the inconvenience caused by the confusion during the distribution process of this promotional event." The company stated that it has recovered 99.7% of the mistakenly sent bitcoins and will cover the total lost amount with its own assets.

Market Impact

The incident caused sudden fluctuations in Bitcoin prices within the platform, as some recipients sold their tokens. Bithumb announced that it was able to regain control of the situation in just five minutes.