Crypto exchange Bithumb is pursuing legal action to freeze nearly $500,000 in Bitcoin (BTC) unrecovered from the $40 billion payout error in February, signaling that the platform will turn to the courts to reclaim the assets.
Bithumb Launches Legal ActionOn February 6, Bithumb accidentally distributed 620,000 Bitcoin, worth over $40 billion, to 249 users participating in the crypto exchange’s “random box” promotional event due to a “fat-finger” error.
According to the report, Bithumb filed for a provisional seizure this week to reclaim 7 Bitcoin it had failed to recover after the erroneous payout incident. This is a legal measure to temporarily freeze a debtor’s assets, preventing their concealment or disposal before a lawsuit to recover the money is filed.
An industry source told Chosun Biz that some of these clients argued they should not be responsible for the exchange’s mistake, but under South Korean law, mistakenly received assets are usually classified as unjust enrichment and must be returned in kind.
The report noted that if BTC’s price falls by the time of return, the customer could benefit, but if the price surges, the customer could face losses if the court rules in the exchange’s favor.
‘Ghost Bitcoin’ Error Reshapes Industry PracticesThis meant that Bithumb’s system failed to block the irregular transaction, distributing assets that did not actually exist and distorting market prices. As a result, the FSS, alongside the Korean Financial Intelligence Unit (KoFIU) and the Digital Asset eXchange Alliance (DAXA), formed an emergency task force to organize follow-up measures and review industry-wide practices, including domestic exchanges’ virtual asset reserves, management practices, operational conditions, and internal control systems.
Therefore, the regulator ordered all domestic crypto exchanges to switch from the 24‑hour reconciliation cycles most exchanges currently have to a 5‑minute asset‑matching regime by the end of May. In addition, they asked all platforms to disclose their asset-matching balance daily.
