On the 6th, South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb mistakenly sent a total of 620,000 bitcoins instead of 620,000 KRW (1671 ringgit) activity bonuses to 249 users. Upon discovering this unexpected windfall, some users hurried to sell, causing bitcoin prices on the Bithumb platform to plummet for a time.
According to Yonhap News Agency, Bithumb stated that the activity bonuses were sent at 7 p.m. on the 6th. The company discovered the mistake around 7:20 p.m. and began blocking trades and withdrawals from 7:35 p.m. onwards. However, some users immediately sold their bitcoins, causing the price on Bithumb, originally 98 million KRW (264,100 ringgit) per bitcoin, to plunge to 81.11 million KRW (218,600 ringgit) per bitcoin.
Bithumb indicated that the company initially recovered 618,212 bitcoins; as for the 1,788 coins that had already been sold, they have been gradually reclaimed, leaving 125 coins still unaccounted for on the market, currently worth 13.3 billion KRW (35.845 million ringgit) at present prices.
However, this incident has led the public to question the existence of “ghost bitcoins,” because, according to data from the third quarter of last year, Bithumb held a total of 42,619 bitcoins. How could it have possibly sent out 620,000 coins at once?
In response, Bithumb emphasized that the company maintains strict accounting controls: user accounts display only the actual amount of coins they possess. The price volatility induced by the sell-off recovered within five minutes, and the liquidation prevention system functioned normally. No users experienced forced liquidations due to the abnormal price fluctuations.