Bithumb Explains Accidental 2000 Bitcoin Payout: What Really Happened?

South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb has officially confirmed that an operational error led to an abnormal Bitcoin payout during a promotional event.

The incident triggered a brief but sharp price dislocation on the platform before markets stabilized within minutes.

Bithumb Confirms Accidental Bitcoin Payout

In a statement, Bithumb apologized to users, acknowledging that “an abnormal amount of Bitcoin was paid to some customers” during the event, which caused temporary volatility as recipients sold the assets.

“The Bitcoin price temporarily fluctuated sharply as some accounts that received the Bitcoin sold it,” the exchange said.

According to Bithumb, its internal monitoring systems quickly detected the abnormal transactions. The platform responded by restricting trading activity on the affected accounts, which helped contain the disruption.

“As a result, the market price returned to normal levels within 5 minutes, and the domino liquidation prevention system functioned normally, preventing chain liquidations due to the abnormal Bitcoin price,” the company stated.

The clarification comes after Bitcoin briefly traded significantly below global market rates on Bithumb, fueling speculation about the cause of the sudden price drop.

BTC/KRW vs BTC/USDT on Binance and Coinbase. Source: TradingView

Bithumb emphasized that the incident was not the result of a cyberattack or security breach.

“We want to make it clear that this incident is unrelated to any external hacking or security breach, and does not pose any issues with system security or customer asset management,” the exchange said.

Impact on Bithumb Customer Funds

The company also reassured users that customer funds remain safe and that core services are operating normally.

“Customer assets are being safely managed as before, and transactions and deposits/withdrawals are currently operating normally,” the statement added.

Importantly, Bithumb indicated that no customers suffered losses as a result of the incident, noting that it is continuing to review the situation and will disclose further details as necessary.

“It is understood that this incident did not result in any loss or damage to customer assets. We will share all follow-up actions transparently and take full responsibility to ensure that not a single customer is harmed,” the exchange said.

The episode highlights how operational errors, even when quickly resolved, can trigger sharp short-term price distortions in crypto markets, particularly on individual exchanges where liquidity conditions differ from global averages.

Bithumb concluded its statement with another apology, saying it would strengthen safeguards and continue working to provide a stable trading environment.

“Once again, we deeply apologize for any inconvenience caused. We will continue to do our best to provide a stable and trustworthy trading environment.”