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Reuters

South Korean crypto firm sends users $44 billion in bitcoins in error

Reuters · 2 months ago
Reuters
Reuters
2 months ago

South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb said on Saturday (February 7) it had accidentally given away more than $40 billion worth of bitcoins to customers as promotional rewards, triggering a sharp selloff.

Breakdown
  • Bithumb accidentally distributed 620,000 bitcoins during a reward campaign 6s
  • Trading and withdrawals for 695 users were restricted after the error 12s
  • Bithumb recovered 99.7% of the bitcoins by the next day 16s
  • Regulators will review Bithumb and other exchanges' internal controls 55s
  • Bitcoin prices briefly slumped 17% after the incident but later recovered 1m 12s
Crypto