South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb made a significant mistake while distributing prizes in a promotional campaign, according to a report by a local news outlet. The giveaway, called "Random Box," was intended to award users small cash gifts denominated in Korean won.
Under the promotion, participants could receive prizes ranging from 2,000 to 50,000 Korean won (roughly $1.4 to $34). An employee responsible for compiling the smallest prize amounts inadvertently selected Bitcoin in the "Currency" field, which resulted in recipients being credited with 2,000 BTC each instead of 2,000 won.
As a consequence of the error, a total of 640,000 BTC left the exchange's wallets. Many recipients sold the mistakenly credited cryptocurrency, which led to an approximately 10% drop in Bitcoin's price on the platform.
Once the mistake was discovered, Bithumb froze the affected user accounts. Some recipients voluntarily returned the funds they had received in error. Through recovery efforts and returned assets, the exchange says it was able to reclaim about 400,000 BTC.
Bithumb issued an apology to account holders affected by the incident. The company emphasized that the problem was a distribution error and not the result of a security breach or failures in client asset management, assuring users that their accounts and holdings remain secure.