South Korea has initiated an investigation into Bithumb after a significant operational error led to the unintentional airdrop of approximately 620,000 BTC, worth around $40–44 billion, to users during a promotional event on February 6, 2026. This blunder, resulting from a human input mistake that credited phantom Bitcoins instead of the intended Korean won, exposed notable “structural vulnerabilities” in the exchange’s internal controls. The incident led to a sharp temporary drop in Bithumb’s BTC/KRW price, although the global Bitcoin price remained unaffected. Despite Bithumb’s swift action to freeze accounts and retrieve 99.7% of the erroneous credits, the event underscores ongoing industry concerns over managing off-chain ‘paper’ assets and highlights South Korean regulators’ recent push for more stringent oversight of crypto exchange operations.
Bithumb faces investigation after massive paper Bitcoin airdrop
