A South Korean cryptocurrency exchange, Bithumb, has sought a court order to freeze seven bitcoins (BTC), valued at approximately $71,271.43 each, totaling around $8 million. This action follows an error in February when the platform mistakenly credited this amount due to a promotional mishap. The case is escalating as some users have resisted returning these funds.
Bithumb has initiated a provisional seizure—a preliminary legal measure that prevents asset transfer—according to local media reports, with plans for further civil proceedings underway.
The error originated on February 6, during a promotion intended to award 249 winners with 620,000 won (approximately $460) each. Instead of using “KRW,” the staff erroneously inputted “BTC,” resulting in an internal credit of 620,000 bitcoin per winner. This mistake temporarily indicated that over $40 billion worth of BTC had been created.
Quickly, certain users sold around 1,788 BTC before Bithumb could freeze affected accounts, causing a drop in its BTC/KRW price to as low as 80 million won ($54,000).
After reversing most transactions and reclaiming the majority of sold coins, about $12.3 million remained unreturned. This amount has since decreased to seven bitcoins following extensive outreach efforts.
Korean legal experts suggest that such scenarios fall under unjust enrichment laws, requiring recipients to return misallocated assets or repurchase them at current market prices if already sold.
This incident underscores how human errors and the rapid, irreversible nature of cryptocurrency transactions can quickly escalate into significant financial crises.
As per Coingecko’s data, Bithumb ranks as South Korea’s second-largest cryptocurrency exchange with a 24-hour trading volume of $388 million, following Upbit, which had a volume of $788 million.