Bithumb recovers 99.7% of Bitcoin after promotional airdrop error
South Korean exchange Bithumb said it recovered about 99.7% of Bitcoin mistakenly credited to users during a Feb. 6 reward event that should have issued small Korean-won incentives. A system configuration error caused BTC to be distributed; some recipients sold instantly, briefly driving BTC/KRW prices on Bithumb sharply lower versus global markets. Bithumb blocked affected accounts, restored balances by Feb. 7, and used its own funds to reconcile remaining losses after some BTC was sold. The exchange said the incident was an operational failure, not a hack, and pledged compensation and fee relief to traders who sold at unusually low prices. Bithumb has formed an internal task force to tighten controls and prevent recurrence. Key data: ~99.7% of misplaced BTC recovered; all affected balances restored by Feb. 7. Primary keywords: Bithumb, Bitcoin, airdrop error, BTC/KRW, exchange operational error. Secondary/semantic keywords: recovery, compensation, liquidity shock, price divergence, operational controls.
Neutral
The incident is operational rather than a security breach and Bithumb has recovered ~99.7% of the misplaced BTC and restored balances, which limits lasting negative market effects. Short-term market impact was localized: BTC/KRW on Bithumb briefly diverged and dropped, creating a liquidity shock for traders using that venue. That produced temporary volatility and losses for sellers on Bithumb, but the wider market was not materially affected. Compensation and rapid recovery reduce reputational and counterparty risk. For traders: expect short-lived arbitrage opportunities or forced liquidations on the affected pair during the event window, but no sustained downward pressure on BTC price from this incident alone. Longer term, the event highlights operational risk at centralized exchanges; repeated incidents could erode confidence and raise volatility premiums on exchange-specific pairs. Comparable past events (e.g., exchange airdrop or accounting glitches causing localized mispricings) typically produce short-term volatility and arbitrage, followed by normalization once balances are restored and exchanges compensate users. Overall, market-level sentiment should remain largely unchanged, but traders should monitor exchange-specific liquidity and safeguards when placing large orders or using margin on single-venue markets.