South Korean Crypto Exchange Bithumb Accidentally Sends $43 Billion Worth of 'Paper Bitcoin' to Customers
A staggering clerical error at South Korea's largest cryptocurrency exchange, Bithumb, has left the crypto community reeling. According to reports, the exchange accidentally sent 620,000 bitcoins - worth a whopping $43 billion - to 695 customers as part of a promotional reward.
The error was discovered when the recipients received a seemingly small amount of Korean won instead of the advertised 2,000-won bonus. However, at current market prices, this amounts to roughly $140 million in bitcoin, which is minuscule compared to the massive sum that was actually sent.
Bithumb has since confirmed the mistake and stated that it occurred due to a technical issue, not an external hacking attempt or security breach. The exchange also claimed that 99.7% of the errant bitcoins have been recovered, preventing any potential damage from further price fluctuations.
However, this incident highlights the long-standing issue with "paper bitcoin" - the concept where exchanges claim to hold large amounts of cryptocurrency but often don't actually back it up with sufficient funds. This was a major factor in the collapse of Mt. Gox, one of the largest crypto exchanges at the time, in 2014.
Bithumb itself has significantly less assets than claimed, boasting only $5.3 billion in reserves - a far cry from the $43 billion sent out as promotional rewards. The exchange's history is marred by security breaches and hacking incidents, including multiple raids for charges ranging from fraud to embezzlement.
The incident also comes at a time when the crypto market is already under pressure due to significant price drops and ethics-related concerns surrounding high-profile figures like the Trump family and Jeffrey Epstein's involvement in the industry.
A staggering clerical error at South Korea's largest cryptocurrency exchange, Bithumb, has left the crypto community reeling. According to reports, the exchange accidentally sent 620,000 bitcoins - worth a whopping $43 billion - to 695 customers as part of a promotional reward.
The error was discovered when the recipients received a seemingly small amount of Korean won instead of the advertised 2,000-won bonus. However, at current market prices, this amounts to roughly $140 million in bitcoin, which is minuscule compared to the massive sum that was actually sent.
Bithumb has since confirmed the mistake and stated that it occurred due to a technical issue, not an external hacking attempt or security breach. The exchange also claimed that 99.7% of the errant bitcoins have been recovered, preventing any potential damage from further price fluctuations.
However, this incident highlights the long-standing issue with "paper bitcoin" - the concept where exchanges claim to hold large amounts of cryptocurrency but often don't actually back it up with sufficient funds. This was a major factor in the collapse of Mt. Gox, one of the largest crypto exchanges at the time, in 2014.
Bithumb itself has significantly less assets than claimed, boasting only $5.3 billion in reserves - a far cry from the $43 billion sent out as promotional rewards. The exchange's history is marred by security breaches and hacking incidents, including multiple raids for charges ranging from fraud to embezzlement.
The incident also comes at a time when the crypto market is already under pressure due to significant price drops and ethics-related concerns surrounding high-profile figures like the Trump family and Jeffrey Epstein's involvement in the industry.
its like theyre playing with fire and everyone gets hurt. btw has anyone checked if the 43 billion actually went to legit customers or if it was just some clever hack?
, can you believe this? So some Korean exchange called Bithumb just sent out 620k bitcoins worth like $43 billion as a bonus lol wut 
! But wait it gets even crazier they accidentally sent it to 695 customers instead of like say 696 haha. But seriously though, this is a huge deal and I'm worried about all the people who got hit with the extra cash.
. That's some sketchy accounting right there. And now that I think about it, all these security breaches and hacking incidents don't sound too good either.
. But I guess it's a good reminder to always do your research and be careful when dealing with crypto exchanges 
and I'm still on a food coma, trying to figure out what all that spicy tom yum soup was doing to my taste buds 
. Anyway, I've been following this Bithumb thing and it's like, wow, $43 billion is crazy money 
. Like, most of those customers were probably just holding onto that "paper bitcoin" for the thrill of it, not thinking about the actual market value 
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I'm literally shaking right now thinking about this... Bithumb, a major player in the crypto world, just had one of the WORST technical fails EVER! $43 BILLION worth of "paper bitcoin" sent to customers? Like what even is that?! 
. Can we all just take a deep breath and acknowledge that this is a huge problem with the entire crypto system?!
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I'm surprised 99.7% of the bitcoins weren't lost forever. The fact that it was a technical issue instead of a hack is just a cop-out, imo.
? And now the whole crypto community is shook 
. The fact that 99.7% of those bitcoins were recovered is a good start, but still 
. They need to step up their game if they want to be taken seriously in the crypto space 
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need to up their security game ASAP 
