> “This matter has nothing to do with external hacking or system vulnerabilities,” Bithumb said.
Regulators Step In
South Korea’s Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) announced it will review the incident following an emergency meeting. Officials warned that any evidence of illegal activity could trigger a formal investigation.
Bithumb’s CEO, Lee Jae-won, pledged full cooperation with regulators and promised stronger safeguards going forward.
> “We will take this incident as a serious lesson and prioritize customer trust and stability over rapid growth,” he said.
Compensation and System Upgrades Planned
To restore confidence, Bithumb announced it will:
Pay 20,000 won ($13.66) in compensation to all active users at the time of the error
Waive trading fees for affected customers
Upgrade its verification systems
Introduce AI-based monitoring tools to detect abnormal transactions in real time
A Broader Industry Wake-Up Call
The incident is expected to intensify global conversations around financial safeguards and crypto regulation, highlighting the risks of automated transaction systems.
A similar case occurred in April 2024, when Citigroup mistakenly credited a customer $81 trillion instead of $280 — an error that was reversed only after multiple employees failed to catch it.