Bithumb Wins First Round in Court Battle Over Mistakenly Credited Bitcoin

Bithumb, a South Korean cryptocurrency exchange, has won its first round in court against a user who sold Bitcoin mistakenly credited during a promotional event in February. The Seoul Central District Court ruled in favor of Bithumb on August 27, issuing a judgment that covers the second-largest claim among four cases filed by the exchange.

The mistake occurred when 620,000 units of Bitcoin were mistakenly credited to users as event rewards. After discovering the error, Bithumb blocked withdrawals and recovered most of the Bitcoin before it was traded. However, 1,786 units had already been sold, prompting Bithumb to file unjust enrichment suits against four users who did not return the proceeds.

The case at hand is valued at approximately 194 million won, or around $140,000. The ruling sets a positive precedent for Bithumb's remaining claims, which are valued at about 500 million won ($361,000), 14.8 million won ($10,700), and 5 million won ($3,600).

The outcome of this first-instance ruling suggests that Bithumb is likely to prevail in the other three cases as well.