Bithumb's Bitcoin Blunder: Accidental $40 Billion Giveaway Sparks Chaos

South Korean crypto exchange Bithumb mistakenly distributed over $40 billion worth of bitcoins to its customers as promotional rewards. The incident caused a temporary selloff, prompting the company to restrict trading and issue apologies. Regulatory bodies are investigating the incident for potential vulnerabilities in virtual asset management.

South Korean cryptocurrency giant Bithumb made headlines on Saturday after mistakenly distributing over $40 billion in bitcoins to its users as part of a promotional campaign. This significant blunder briefly sent shockwaves through the virtual asset market, triggering a sharp selloff.

The exchange quickly apologized for Friday's mistake, announcing that it had managed to recover 99.7% of the mistakenly distributed 620,000 bitcoins, valued at about $44 billion according to current market prices. Bithumb promptly restricted trading and withdrawals for the 695 affected users within 35 minutes after the erroneous distribution.

Emphasizing that the incident was not due to external hacking or security breaches, Bithumb assured customers of their asset safety. However, South Korea's financial regulators, including the Financial Services Commission, expressed concern over the vulnerabilities it revealed, initiating an emergency review of Bithumb's operations and internal controls.

(With inputs from agencies.)