South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb has officially acknowledged that an operational error caused abnormal Bitcoin payments during a promotional event.
This incident caused brief but sharp price fluctuations on the platform before the market stabilized within minutes.
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Bithumb confirms accidental Bitcoin payment
In a statement, Bithumb acknowledged that “an unusual amount of Bitcoin was paid out to some customers” during the event, causing temporary fluctuations such as recipients selling their assets, and apologized to users.
“Bitcoin prices temporarily fluctuated as some accounts that received Bitcoin sold their Bitcoins,” the exchange said.
Bithumb said its internal monitoring systems quickly detected the anomalous transactions. Platforms responded by restricting trading activity on affected accounts, helping to contain the disruption.
“As a result, the market price returned to normal levels within five minutes, and Domino’s liquidation prevention system also functioned normally, preventing chain liquidations due to Bitcoin price abnormalities,” the company said.
This clarification came after Bitcoin briefly traded well below global market rates on Bithumb, increasing speculation about the cause of the sudden price drop.
Bithumb stressed that this incident was not the result of a cyberattack or security breach.
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“We would like to clarify that this incident has nothing to do with external hacking or security breaches, and has not caused any problems with system security or customer asset management,” the exchange said in a statement.
Impact on Bithumb customer funds
The company also reassured users that their funds are kept safe and that its core services are operating normally.
“Customer assets are being managed as safely as before, and transactions and deposits and withdrawals are now occurring normally,” the statement added.
Importantly, Bithumb indicated that no customers had suffered any loss as a result of this incident and said it was continuing to investigate the situation and would disclose further details if necessary.
The exchange said, “We understand that no loss or damage to customer assets occurred as a result of this incident.We will transparently share all subsequent actions and take full responsibility to ensure that not a single customer is harmed.”
This episode highlights how operational errors, even if quickly resolved, can cause sharp short-term price distortions in crypto markets, especially on individual exchanges where liquidity conditions differ from global averages.
Bithumb once again apologized for the statement and said it will continue to strengthen safeguards and work to provide a stable trading environment.
“Once again, we deeply apologize for the inconvenience caused. We will continue to do our best to provide a stable and reliable trading environment.”
