Bithumb Wins First Ruling in Bitcoin Recovery Lawsuits

Bithumb secured a first‑instance court order requiring a defendant to repay approximately 194 million won that was mistakenly credited as Bitcoin during a February promotional event.

Background of the Error

On February 6, Bithumb intended to distribute a total of 620,000 won in rewards through a random‑box event. An employee mistakenly selected Bitcoin as the payment unit, causing the exchange’s internal ledger to credit 620,000 BTC instead of the intended fiat amount. The erroneous credits remained within Bithumb’s internal system and exceeded its actual Bitcoin holdings.

Immediate Response

The exchange identified the mistake within 20 minutes, halted trading and withdrawals after 15 minutes, and completed restrictions on 695 affected customers within 35 minutes. Some recipients sold the mistakenly credited Bitcoin before the controls took effect, briefly pushing Bithumb’s BTC/KRW price about 17 % below the broader market.

Civil Recovery Actions

Bithumb filed four separate civil lawsuits in March, alleging that the users who sold the erroneously credited Bitcoin retained the cash proceeds. The August 27 judgment addressed the second‑largest claim, ordering the return of roughly 194 million won as unjust enrichment. The other three claims total approximately 520 million won, but their court dates and outcomes have not been disclosed.

Regulatory Follow‑Up

South Korean regulators responded to the incident by mandating five‑minute ledger reconciliations, automated balance checks, separate accounts, and multi‑approval processes for high‑risk manual payments. The Financial Services Commission continues its review of Bithumb, though no final penalty has been announced.

Next Steps

The August 27 decision is a first‑instance ruling and may be appealed. Further judgments in the remaining lawsuits and the outcome of the regulatory review will determine the final resolution of the incident.