$44 billion Bitcoin blunder: Bithumb exchange apologizes for accidental payout

The South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb made a startling error, accidentally distributing approximately more than $40 billion worth of Bitcoin to customers as promotional rewards which sparked a massive sell-off on the exchange.

Bithumb issued an apology for the serious accidents that took place on Friday, stating that it has recovered 99.7% of the 620,000 bitcoins-worth about $44 billion at current prices.

However, trading restrictions were limited to the 695 affected customers and were implemented within 35 minutes of Friday’s improper allocation.

The exchange rate had been working to distribute small crash rewards of 2,000 Korean won ($1.37) to each user in the wake of product launch but winners received at least 2,000 bitcoins each, according to media reports.

Bithumb released a statement stating, "We would like to make it clear that this incident is unrelated to external hacking or security breaches, and there are no problems with system security or customer asset management.”

Bitcoin is undergoing a substantial correction hitting a 16-month low and eyeing the $60,000 support on Friday. This marks a staggering 50% decline from all-time high, as a global selloff in technology stocks deepened and washed out risky bets across asset classes. Bitcoin prices momentarily slumped 17% to 81.1 million won on Friday evening before recovering to trade at 104.5 million won.

The recent incident serves as a stark reminder of the operational risks inherent in the digital asset market, leaving a substantial impact on both the company and the broader crypto landscape.