Bithumb ‘Fat Finger’ Glitch Airdrops 2,000 BTC; Local Price Crashes to $55K
A configuration error swapped a $1.40 reward for $130M in Bitcoin, crashing Bithumb’s spot price to $55k as regulators circle.
South Korean exchange Bithumb triggered a massive, localized liquidity shock Friday after an internal configuration error distributed 2,000 BTC, worth over $130 million, to users instead of a minor rewards payout. The exchange has since frozen affected accounts, but not before the accidental windfall caused Bitcoin to trade nearly 16% below global spot prices on the platform.
The $130 Million Typo
The incident originated from a promotional event intended to reward users with 2,000 Korean won (approximately $1.40). According to local reports from Chosun Ilbo and The Crypto Times, a back-office misconfiguration swapped the currency code, crediting winners with 2,000 Bitcoin each. The sheer scale of the error introduced artificial selling pressure that the local order book could not absorb.
The intended reward was 2,000 KRW. The executed reward was 2,000 BTC. Liquidity vanished instantly.
Localized Flash Crash
As recipients rushed to liquidate the unexpected assets, the BTC/KRW pair on Bithumb decoupled violently from the broader market. While Bitcoin held steady at approximately $66,000 on Binance and Coinbase, Bithumb’s order book buckled, wicking down to roughly 82 million KRW ($55,000). This created a fleeting, massive arbitrage window for traders quick enough to buy the discounted spot Bitcoin before withdrawal gates slammed shut.
Exchange Response & Regulatory Heat
Bithumb acknowledged the error in a statement cited by BeInCrypto, claiming its “domino liquidation prevention system” flagged the anomaly within minutes. The exchange insists no customer assets were compromised and framing the event as a strictly internal operational failure. However, the timing is perilous.
This “fat finger” incident arrives just days after South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission (FTC) reportedly initiated an onsite probe into Bithumb’s operations on February 4. With regulators already scrutinizing the exchange’s risk controls, a nine-figure payout error will likely force the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) to re-evaluate the fragility of domestic exchange infrastructure.
