Bithumb Pursues Legal Action to Recover $8 Million in Erroneous Bitcoin Payouts

Bithumb has petitioned a South Korean court to freeze seven bitcoin, valued at approximately $8 million, as part of an effort to recover funds distributed during a February payout error. The exchange is initiating a provisional seizure to prevent the movement of assets before a formal civil case is filed. The incident occurred on February 6 during a promotional event intended to reward 249 winners with 620,000 won (roughly $460) each. Due to a human error, staff entered "BTC" instead of "KRW," causing the system to credit each winner with 620,000 bitcoin on internal ledgers. This error briefly created a phantom supply of over $40 billion in BTC. While Bithumb acted quickly to freeze accounts, some users managed to sell approximately 1,788 BTC, which caused a temporary price decline in the BTC/KRW pair to the 80 million won range. Although the exchange recovered the majority of the coins, roughly 12.3 billion won ($8.3 million) remained outstanding, which has since been narrowed down to seven bitcoin. Legal experts suggest the case falls under "unjust enrichment," meaning recipients are legally obligated to return the funds or buy back the assets at current market prices. The event underscores the operational risks associated with the speed of cryptocurrency transactions. Bithumb currently maintains its position as South Korea's second-largest exchange, trailing Upbit in daily trading volume.