As Bithumb is expected to become entangled in multiple legal issues over the erroneous bitcoin payouts, it reportedly held a recent meeting with KIM&CHANG. Some of those who suffered monetary losses from the erroneous payouts are preparing a class-action lawsuit against Bithumb. Conversely, Bithumb may also have to sue some customers who received bitcoin but do not return it.
According to a compilation of reporting by ChosunBiz on the 12th, Bithumb held a meeting with KIM&CHANG after the erroneous bitcoin payout incident broke on the 6th. KIM&CHANG has also represented Bithumb in legal matters, including the $100 million fraud trial of former chair Lee Jeong-hoon, the founder of Bithumb, and a lawsuit to overturn a tax collection disposition.
Bithumb sought to pay 2,000–50,000 won to 249 event winners but mistakenly entered "bitcoin" instead of "won," paying out 620,000 bitcoins worth 62 trillion won. Bithumb canceled the payments several dozen minutes later, but some customers who received bitcoin sold, sending the price, which had been around 95 million won per coin, briefly plunging to about 81 million won. As bitcoin fell, some joined in selling and incurred losses, and some "lending service" users were forced into liquidation due to a drop in collateral value.
Users who suffered losses from the sharp drop in bitcoin's price can sue Bithumb. Bithumb has said it will fully compensate for the losses. Bithumb proposed compensating forced liquidation victims at 110% of their losses, but some victims have rejected this and are preparing to file suit. A representative of a law firm that began accepting class-action filings from victims said, "We plan to proceed with the lawsuit once the number of filings reaches a meaningful level."
Conversely, Bithumb may also file lawsuits. Bithumb is contacting, one by one, people who converted the erroneously paid bitcoin into cash and withdrew it or exchanged it for virtual assets, seeking recovery. Because Bithumb had announced in advance it would pay 2,000–50,000 "won," receiving bitcoin worth hundreds of billions of won can be seen as unjust enrichment.
A Bithumb official said, "We are negotiating for an amicable recovery and have not yet considered legal action," but if recovery fails to the end, the company is expected to file an unjust enrichment return claim.
Bithumb failed to recover 125 of the 620,000 erroneously paid bitcoins. This amounts to about 13 billion won, of which about 3 billion won was cashed out and the remainder was reportedly used to purchase other virtual assets.