South Korean crypto exchange Bithumb has begun legal proceedings to recover 7 Bitcoin that remain unreturned following a major payout error during a promotional event earlier this year. The exchange filed for a provisional attachment, a court approved measure designed to freeze assets before a civil lawsuit, targeting users who have not yet returned the mistakenly distributed funds.
The error occurred on Feb. 6 when Bithumb intended to distribute 620,000 Korean won (about $420) to 249 winners of an event. Due to an input mistake, the system accidentally sent 620,000 Bitcoin instead of the intended fiat amount. At the time, the mistaken transfer briefly carried an estimated value of about 62 trillion Korean won, or nearly $42 billion. Although the exchange reversed transactions within minutes, some funds had already been moved by recipients.
Regulatory Response and Recovery Efforts Continue
Bithumb reported that it recovered 99.7% of the funds on the same day, while the remaining 0.3%, totaling 1,788 Bitcoin that had already been sold, was covered using company reserves. Since then, most recipients have returned their assets, but a small number have refused. Under South Korean law, mistakenly received assets are considered unjust enrichment and must be returned.
Following the incident, South Korea’s Financial Services Commission ordered all crypto exchanges to reconcile internal ledgers with actual asset balances every five minutes to prevent similar operational failures in the future.
Disclaimer
This content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, investment, or legal advice. Cryptocurrency trading involves risk and may result in financial loss.