Bithumb, which holds the second-largest market share among domestic virtual asset exchanges, was revealed to have charged financial consumers 100 times the usual transaction fees due to a technical disruption.
Bithumb posted a notice on its website on the morning of the 14th, stating that incorrect fees were applied to newly listed virtual assets and that "refunds for the difference from normal fees have been completed."
The fee error occurred when Bithumb listed the new virtual asset, Storycoin, the day before. Bithumb charged some users who traded Storycoin from 6:30 p.m. for one hour a fee of 4%, which is 100 times the normal fee (0.04%). During this time, the transaction volume of Bithumb's Story (IP) was 51 billion won, and the fees charged are estimated to reach about 4.1 billion won. Bithumb explained that it was just a simple technical glitch.
Until now, Bithumb has emphasized an annual disruption rate of 0% and has aggressively pursued marketing. However, the actual situation has differed somewhat. According to data released by lawmaker Lee Heon-seung of the People Power Party, the total downtime and error occurrence time at the four major domestic exchanges—Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, and Korbit—over the past six years was approximately 42 days, 8 hours, and 40 minutes. Of this, Bithumb accounted for the largest share at 38 days, 21 hours, and 16 minutes.