South Korean crypto firm accidentally sends $44 billion in bitcoins to usersSouth Korean cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb said on Saturday it had accidentally given away more than $40 billion worth of bitcoins to customers as promotional rewards, triggering a sharp selloff on the exchange. Bithumb apologised for the mistake, which took place on Friday, and said it had recovered 99.7% of the 620,000 bitcoins, worth about $44 billion at current prices. It had restricted trading and withdrawals for the 695 affected customers within 35 minutes of the erroneous distribution on Friday. Bitcoin prices briefly slumped 17% to 81.1 million won on Friday evening on Bithumb, charts from the exchange show. Bithumb trails Upbit, a dominant player in the South Korean crypto space.

Source: Daily Nation February 10, 2026 13:07 UTC