A $43 billion Bitcoin whoopsie 🤭

South Korean crypto exchange Bithumb accidentally handed out billions in Bitcoin this week, briefly tanking the price on its platform.

Author

Andrew Hayward
February 07, 2026

📝 What you need to know

We’ve all heard about so-called fat-finger mistakes where someone accidentally types the wrong message or transfers too much money, but a $43 billion Bitcoin fumble? That’s an all-timer.

South Korean crypto exchange Bithumb admitted on Friday that it accidentally gave away billions of dollars’ worth of Bitcoin to customers, sending as much as 2,000 BTC—about $139 million worth, as of this writing—each to hundreds of customers in a giveaway, rather than dropping them a couple bucks’ worth of local currency.

All told, Bithumb credited customers with some $43 billion worth of Bitcoin, most of which it was able to quickly recover—though it’s still working to claw back funds that users sold once they saw the life-changing windfall in their accounts. The price of Bitcoin briefly dropped to $55,000 on the exchange following those sales.

South Korean Crypto Exchange Accidentally Gave Away $43 Billion in Bitcoin - Decrypt

The error was quickly corrected, Bithumb said, but not before some users sold off their Bitcoin, temporarily crashing its listed price.

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