Bithumb Wins Two Lawsuits Over Mistaken Bitcoin Credits
Bithumb, a South Korean cryptocurrency exchange, has won two lawsuits against users who sold Bitcoin that was mistakenly credited to their accounts. The Seoul Central District Court ruled in Bithumb's favor in two of four unjust enrichment cases filed against users.
The court decisions cover claims of 194 million won and 5 million won, while two other claims are still awaiting outcomes. The lawsuits proceeded via service by public notice because standard delivery methods for court documents failed for the defendants.
The mistake occurred on February 6, 2023, when Bithumb intended to distribute rewards denominated in Korean won but credited customer accounts with 620,000 BTC instead. Some users had reportedly already sold 1,788 BTC worth of the credited balances before Bithumb moved to freeze the affected accounts.
Bithumb is seeking to recover proceeds from users who sold Bitcoin that was mistakenly credited to their accounts and did not return the proceeds. The exchange's approach is to seek monetary recovery from the sale proceeds rather than compel users to return Bitcoin itself.