Bithumb Wins First Ruling in $173M Bitcoin Recovery Lawsuit

Bithumb, a major South Korean cryptocurrency exchange, has won its first court ruling in a lawsuit to recover mistakenly credited Bitcoin from customers. The Seoul Central District Court's 90th Civil Division ordered one of the defendants to return approximately 194 million won in unjust enrichment on August 27. This is the first of four separate civil lawsuits filed by Bithumb to recover proceeds from the February promotional event.

During a random-box event, an employee selected Bitcoin as the payment unit instead of the intended 620,000 won. As a result, 620,000 BTC was internally credited to customers, but not transferred across the blockchain. The exchange's internal system exceeded its actual Bitcoin holdings. Bithumb initially recovered most disputed assets through account reversals and voluntary returns, leaving approximately seven Bitcoin unrecovered.

The court's ruling supports Bithumb's argument that customers cannot retain proceeds generated from an obvious payment error. However, each remaining case must still be decided on its own evidence and defenses. The judgment concerns civil restitution, not criminal liability.