Bithumb Wins Back-to-Back Court Rulings in Record-Breaking Bitcoin Error
Bithumb, one of South Korea's largest cryptocurrency exchanges, has won two consecutive court rulings against users who sold Bitcoin they were not entitled to after a major operational error in February 2026. The exchange mistakenly credited 620,000 BTC, worth over $40 billion at the time, to 249 user accounts due to a data entry mistake during a promotional event.
The error occurred on February 6, 2026, when an employee selected BTC instead of Korean currency as the payment unit for the promotion. This led to the system crediting the massive amount of Bitcoin to users' accounts, which they then proceeded to sell before Bithumb could freeze the affected accounts.
Of the total 620,000 BTC credited in error, 618,212 were recovered by Bithumb, representing a recovery rate of 99.7%. However, 1,788 BTC had already been sold by users before the exchange could intervene. The two court rulings are part of four civil lawsuits filed against users who sold the erroneously credited Bitcoin.
The court's decision in both cases is seen as a significant victory for Bithumb, which has faced regulatory scrutiny and investigations following the incident. In August 2026, South Korea's Financial Supervisory Service submitted its inspection opinion to Bithumb, initiating the sanctions process. The exchange also faces a six-month partial suspension of operations linked to anti-money laundering regulations.