South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb has asked a local court to freeze seven bitcoins (worth about $8 million) that remain unreturned after a payment error in February. The move escalated disputes with a small number of users who refused to return their funds.
According to local media, the exchange announced that it had begun a preliminary seizure, a preliminary step in a lawsuit to prevent the debtor from moving its assets. A civil lawsuit is expected to be filed in the future.
It all started on February 6, when the exchange ran a promotion aimed at paying out 620,000 won (approximately $460) to 249 winners. A staff member mistakenly entered “”$BTCThis resulted in the system crediting Bithumb’s internal ledger with 620,000 Bitcoins to each winner. This was due to human error, and at one point it appeared as if the exchange had created more than $40 billion worth of Bitcoin. $BTC.
Within minutes, some users sold around 1,788 pieces $BTC Before Bithumb freezes your account and enforces it. $BTC/KRW price fell to the low 80 million won ($54,000) range.
The exchange canceled most entries and recovered most of the sold coins, but about 12.3 billion won ($8.3 million) remained unpaid. Later, after several months of outreach, this number was reduced to 7 Bitcoins.
According to local reports, South Korean legal experts say such cases fall under the category of unjust enrichment and the recipients must return the assets. If a coin is sold, the user may have to buy the coin back at a higher price for repayment.
This episode highlights how human error, combined with the speed and irreversibility of cryptocurrency transactions, can turn a minor mistake into a multi-million dollar crisis.
According to Coingecko, Bithumb is the second largest cryptocurrency exchange in South Korea, with a 24-hour trading volume of $388 million, second only to Upbit, which had $788 million in the same period.
