Bithumb's Monumental $40 Billion Bitcoin Distribution Error
In a staggering operational mishap, South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb has issued a formal apology after mistakenly transferring over $40 billion worth of Bitcoin to customers as part of a promotional event. The incident, which occurred on February 6, 2026, involved the accidental deposit of approximately 620,000 Bitcoins into the digital wallets of 695 affected users. According to reports from AFP, this colossal error briefly triggered a significant selloff on the platform, creating sharp volatility in Bitcoin prices.
How the Catastrophic Mistake Unfolded
The root of this financial fiasco lies in a simple promotional miscalculation. Bithumb originally intended to distribute approximately 2,000 won (equivalent to ₹123.76) to each participating customer as part of a marketing campaign. However, due to what appears to be a critical system or human error, the exchange instead sent 2,000 Bitcoins per user—a difference of astronomical proportions. The company swiftly responded by blocking trading and withdrawals for the impacted accounts within 35 minutes of detecting the error.
In an official statement released on February 7, Bithumb expressed profound regret: "We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience caused to our customers due to the confusion that occurred during the distribution process of this promotional event." The exchange emphasized that this incident was completely unrelated to external hacking attempts or security breaches, assuring users that their system security and asset management protocols remain intact and uncompromised.
Recovery Efforts and Financial Implications
Remarkably, Bithumb has managed to recover approximately 99.7% of the mistakenly distributed Bitcoins. The platform has committed to using its own substantial assets to fully cover any remaining financial losses resulting from this unprecedented error. This recovery effort demonstrates both the technical capabilities of major cryptocurrency exchanges and the challenges of managing digital asset transactions at such massive scales.
The company acknowledged that the erroneous Bitcoin deposits prompted immediate selling activity from some users on their platform, creating what they described as "sharp volatility" in prices. Bithumb claims to have brought this volatile situation under control within just five minutes of its emergence. Platform charts reportedly showed Bitcoin prices briefly plummeting by 17% to 81.1 million won during the late hours of February 6.
Broader Market Context and Exchange Standing
This incident occurs against the backdrop of a cryptocurrency market experiencing significant fluctuations. At the time of writing on February 7, Bitcoin was trading at $68,527.34, representing a 5.96% increase over the previous 24 hours. The token's market capitalization stood at $1.36 trillion, with trading volume reaching $87.93 billion. The broader cryptocurrency market capitalization totaled $2.35 trillion, with overall trading volume at $202.85 billion.
Bithumb holds the position as South Korea's second-largest cryptocurrency exchange, trailing only behind market leader Upbit. The platform's handling of this crisis will likely have significant implications for its reputation and standing within the competitive Asian cryptocurrency market. Industry observers will be closely monitoring how this incident affects user trust and regulatory scrutiny in the coming weeks and months.
The cryptocurrency market's fear and greed index remained in the 'Extreme Fear' category during this period, reflecting broader market uncertainties. Bitcoin maintained its dominance at 58.3% of the total cryptocurrency market, while Ethereum held 10.5% market share. Other digital tokens collectively comprised 31.2% of the market pie as of February 7.
