Did a cryptocurrency exchange mistakenly distribute 2,000 Bitcoins?

Bithumb exchange says it has taken measures to restrict accounts that inadvertently receive BTC. Photo: Bloomberg .

The South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb recently experienced an internal issue that resulted in unusual activity related to Bitcoin distribution. According to the exchange, during a routine event processing, an excess amount of BTC was transferred to some user accounts, causing significant price fluctuations in the internal market.

Bithumb stated that its monitoring system quickly detected the erroneous transfer transactions and immediately applied restrictions to the affected accounts to prevent the risk from spreading. The platform affirmed that it had not recorded any losses to customers and emphasized that its internal verification mechanisms were activated promptly.

However, the incident has sparked much debate within the community. Some social media reports suggest the error stemmed from employee negligence, resulting in the mistakenly sending approximately 2,000 BTC to users instead of the intended smaller rewards. Nevertheless, Bithumb has not yet confirmed the exact amount or released an official explanation for the mistake.

This development caused the price of Bitcoin on Bithumb to drop by more than 10% compared to the global price level, as some people who received BTC quickly sold it off. This rare discrepancy shows the impact of a sudden liquidity shock on a single platform, especially one with a large domestic trading volume like Bithumb. Meanwhile, the BTC market on other exchanges generally remained relatively stable.

A rare technical glitch caused the price of BTC on the Bithumb exchange to drop by more than 10%. Photo: Bloomberg .

Analysts believe this is a sign of operational pressure rather than a general weakening of the cryptocurrency. Bithumb also denied the possibility of an external attack, stating that its risk mitigation tools helped limit widespread disruption.

The exchange is still reviewing the entire sequence of events, amidst many questions about whether the mistakenly transferred BTC was withdrawn, frozen, or potentially reversed. Bithumb has also not clarified how it handled transactions that occurred during the period of unusual price volatility.

As one of the largest exchanges in South Korea, Bithumb operates under strict regulatory oversight. This incident will increase the pressure to comply with regulations and necessitate even tighter internal controls in the future.

Source: https://znews.vn/loi-ky-thuat-khien-gia-bitcoin-giam-manh-post1625916.html