Visitors receive account-opening consultations in front of a cryptocurrency price board installed at the Bithumb lounge in Gangnam District, Seoul, on the 6th. /Courtesy of News1

Bithumb, a domestic virtual asset exchange, attempted to pay a reward worth 2,000 won to winners but mistakenly transferred 2,000 bitcoins. This was a remittance error worth tens of trillions of won, and some users were said to have realized hundreds of millions of won in gains through real-time market sales.

According to Bithumb and others on the 6th, Bithumb's management, during a "random box" event held around 6 p.m. that day to pay out winnings worth 10,000 to 50,000 won, mistakenly entered the payout unit as "bitcoin (BTC)" instead of "won (KRW)."

As a result, at least 2,000 BTC was deposited into some winners' accounts. Based on the bitcoin price (about 98 million won per coin), each person effectively received about 196 billion won.

About 700 people participated in the event, and among them, about 240 actually opened the box and received the winnings (bitcoin).

On the 6th, Bithumb mistakenly distributes promotional Bitcoin. As some users who received the Bitcoin in error sell large amounts, the Bitcoin price on Bithumb temporarily falls to 81.11 million won. /Courtesy of News1

According to financial authorities, the amount actually withdrawn after selling bitcoin came to about 3 billion won. Some users reportedly sold immediately at market price and realized hundreds of millions of won in gains. In the aftermath, the price of bitcoin on Bithumb fell more than 10% compared with other exchanges, dropping at one point to the 81 million won range.

Bithumb blocked deposits and withdrawals and began recovery efforts around 7:40 p.m., immediately after recognizing the situation. Some accounts with erroneous deposits show the notice "This account has been blocked from service," and access is restricted.

So far, about 400,000 bitcoins have reportedly been recovered from roughly 160 people. However, the exact scale of the damage has not been disclosed. Various online communities have been flooded with verification posts saying, "I was shocked to see hundreds of billions of won show up in my account," adding to the confusion.

Meanwhile, the Financial Services Commission and the Financial Supervisory Service launched an on-site inspection immediately after receiving the report that day. The financial authorities plan to determine the specific circumstances of the incident.

※ This article has been translated by AI. Share your feedback here.