Bithumb's $44 Billion Bitcoin Error Briefly Makes 695 Users Millionaires

Monopoly-Style Mistake: How a Typo Created Instant Crypto Millionaires

In what could be described as a real-life Monopoly 'Bank Error in Your Favor' card, South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb accidentally distributed over $44 billion worth of Bitcoin to 695 customers during a promotional event on February 7, 2026. Instead of sending the intended 2,000 Korean won (approximately $1.40) to each participant, an employee mistakenly entered 'bitcoin' instead of 'won' as the currency unit, resulting in 2,000 bitcoins being sent to each account.

The 35-Minute Millionaire Experience

For a brief 35 minutes, 695 Bithumb customers found themselves holding cryptocurrency worth approximately $44 billion collectively. 'It was like winning the lottery, but then realizing it was all a mistake,' said one affected user who wished to remain anonymous. 'I refreshed my account three times before I believed what I was seeing.'

The exchange quickly detected the error and within 35 minutes had frozen all trading and withdrawal capabilities for the affected accounts. According to Bithumb's official statement, they managed to recover 99.7% of the erroneously distributed bitcoins, which amounted to approximately 620,000 BTC. The remaining 0.3% (about 1,860 bitcoins) had already been withdrawn or traded by users who acted quickly.

Market Impact and Regulatory Response

The massive error caused immediate market volatility on Bithumb's platform. Bitcoin prices temporarily plunged to 81.1 million won ($46,883) on the exchange, representing a 17% drop compared to other major exchanges. However, prices quickly recovered to 104.5 million won ($60,410) once the exchange suspended trading.

South Korean financial regulators have launched an urgent investigation into the incident. The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) dispatched an on-site inspection team and summoned Bithumb's CEO for questioning. 'This incident exposes serious vulnerabilities in cryptocurrency exchange operations,' stated an FSS spokesperson. 'We will conduct a thorough investigation to determine if there were any regulatory violations.'

Compensation and Future Safeguards

As compensation for what Bithumb calls the 'inconvenience,' affected users will receive 20,000 won (approximately $13.66) deposited into their accounts. The exchange has also promised to waive trading fees for affected customers and implement new artificial intelligence verification systems to prevent similar errors in the future.

Bithumb, founded in 2014 and headquartered in Seoul, is one of South Korea's largest cryptocurrency exchanges. The company has faced previous controversies including security breaches in 2018 and 2019 where hackers stole millions in cryptocurrency, and government raids for alleged tax evasion.

'We deeply apologize for this error and are reviewing all our internal processes,' said Bithumb CEO Lee Jae-won in a public statement. 'While this was not a security breach, it highlights the need for better verification systems, which we are implementing immediately.'

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