Investigators Circle as Bithumb Reveals Compensation Plan for $43 Billion Bitcoin Error
South Korean regulators have launched onsite inspections of Bithumb after the crypto exchange mistakenly credited some $43 billion worth of Bitcoin to hundreds of customer accounts instead of the intended 2,000 Korean won ($1.37) per user. The error, which only affected Bithumb’s internal ledgers and did not involve real Bitcoin transfers on the blockchain, caused a significant sell-off of “paper” Bitcoin and temporarily drove the token’s price on Bithumb down to $55,000. Bithumb’s CEO announced compensation measures, including a cash payment to affected users, a full buyback plus bonus for those selling at the erroneous price, and zero trading fees for one week. Bithumb reported recovery of 99.7% of the over-credited Bitcoin, with the remaining losses covered by company assets. South Korean officials and politicians criticized the incident for exposing fundamental weaknesses in exchange systems and called for urgent digital asset legislation and improved real-time verification and internal control processes.
