A shocking error at Bithumb, a South Korean cryptocurrency exchange, caused a brief but dramatic drop in Bitcoin prices. On February 6, 2026, at 4:14 p.m., Bitcoin (BTC) prices plummeted to $55,000 on Bithumb after a seemingly innocuous internal reward distribution mistake. The exchange mistakenly credited users with 2,000 BTC each, instead of a small reward worth 2,000 Korean won (about $1.50). This resulted in tens of millions of dollars' worth of phantom Bitcoin appearing in hundreds of user accounts, even though no actual Bitcoin was moved on the blockchain. The inflated balances existed only in Bithumb's internal ledger.
The sudden appearance of these enormous balances triggered a panic among users, who wasted no time trying to sell. This led to a sharp selloff on Bithumb's BTC/KRW pair, sending prices 15.8% below those on other exchanges. At one point, BTC traded at 81 million won ($55,000), while prices elsewhere remained relatively stable. However, Bithumb's quick response helped to stabilize the situation. The exchange identified the abnormal transactions through internal controls and restricted trading in the affected accounts shortly after the incident. Within about five minutes, prices normalized, and Bithumb's liquidation prevention system successfully prevented any cascading forced liquidations linked to the price movement.
Bithumb assured its users that the incident was not related to an external hack or security breach and that customer assets remain secure. This incident highlights the importance of robust internal controls and the potential impact of even minor errors in the cryptocurrency market.
