Bithumb wins court rulings over mistaken Bitcoin credits

Bithumb secured court orders for users to return proceeds from mistakenly credited Bitcoin, recovering 194 million won. The case led to stricter regulatory checks and ongoing legal actions.

South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb has achieved initial victories in court over lawsuits to recover proceeds from Bitcoin mistakenly credited to users during a February promotional campaign error. The Seoul Central District Court ordered users to return approximately 194 million won (about $140,000–$145,000) in proceeds from selling the erroneously distributed Bitcoin. The incident occurred due to a staff error, which resulted in 620,000 BTC—worth billions—being sent to user accounts instead of the intended local currency. Bithumb managed to recover about 99% of the mis-sent Bitcoin but pursued legal action against users who did not return the assets. These court rulings are expected to strengthen Bithumb's position in ongoing related lawsuits. In response, South Korean regulators have imposed stricter ledger audits and are considering additional safeguards to prevent similar errors in the future.