There are claims that Bithumb's accident of mistakenly paying users a large amount of Bitcoin mirrors Samsung Securities' "ghost stock" fiasco eight years ago.
Although the Samsung Securities case involved stock and employee stock ownership plan dividends and Bithumb's case involves virtual assets and customer event prize money, in both cases an employee's unit entry error led to the payment of assets on a massive scale and, after some were sold, even triggered a sharp price plunge. Looking back at the financial authorities' follow-up measures and the civil and criminal litigation fallout at the time of the Samsung Securities accident, Bithumb is likely to face similar aftershocks.
According to the industry on the 7th, Bithumb around 7 p.m. the previous day intended to pay prize money of 2,000 to 50,000 won per person through its own "random box" event but mistakenly entered the unit as "Bitcoin" instead of "won."
There were 695 users who participated in the event using their points, and among them Bithumb intended to give a total of 620,000 won to 249 users who opened the random box but ended up paying 620,000 Bitcoins. As some users immediately sold the Bitcoins they received, a mishap occurred in which only on Bithumb the Bitcoin price plunged to 81.11 million won around 7:30 p.m. the previous day.
This is structurally similar to the incident on Apr. 6, 2018, in which Samsung Securities intended to pay 1,000 won per share as employee stock ownership dividends but, due to an employee's mistake, paid 1,000 shares of treasury stock per share. At the time, one share of Samsung Securities was 39,800 won, so stock worth 39.8 million won per employee share was paid, and the total payment scale was estimated to have reached 112.6985 trillion won.
Because dozens of Samsung Securities employees hurried to sell the treasury shares they received as dividends, the stock price at one point plunged nearly 12%, sparking criticism of "moral hazard." In addition, as shares exceeding the authorized issuance were paid as dividends without procedures such as a shareholders meeting, a controversy erupted over so-called "ghost stock," in which shares that could not in fact exist were traded.
Financial authorities conducted intensive on-site inspections, imposed fines of 144 million won on Samsung Securities, and simultaneously checked other exchanges' systems. Samsung Securities issued heavy disciplinary measures such as dismissal, suspension, and pay cuts to 23 people including employees who sold the stock, and filed criminal complaints against some. Later, four employees received suspended prison sentences, and four received confirmed fines. The CEO, who received a three-month suspension from duties from the authorities, resigned.
Some investors, claiming damage from the sharp drop in Samsung Securities' stock price, filed for damages against the company, winning in part at the first trial but losing in both the appeals court and the Supreme Court.
Bithumb is expected to follow a similar path. Financial authorities plan to begin on-site inspections related to Bithumb's mispayment of Bitcoin. They are expected to determine how the incident occurred, the possibility of recovering the Bitcoin, and any legal violations. In addition, Bithumb users who suffered unexpected economic losses from the sharp drop in Bitcoin prices may file lawsuits against the company.