The FSS is also conducting a separate review of protections for customer funds held by electronic payment providers. That assessment focuses on how prepaid balances and settlement funds are stored and reconciled, with potential policy adjustments expected once the review is complete, the regulator said.
The bookkeeping mistake occurred late last week when Bithumb intended to distribute promotional rewards of 2,000 Korean won—approximately $1.37—to selected users. Instead, hundreds of accounts received as much as 2,000 BTC each, a sum valued near $140 million at the time of the transfer. Because the credits appeared only on Bithumb’s internal ledgers, no Bitcoin actually moved across the blockchain. Nevertheless, recipients quickly sold the phantom balance, creating a sharp—if temporary—drop in the exchange’s listed Bitcoin price to about $55,000.
Bithumb Chief Executive Officer Lee Jae-won unveiled a compensation package on Sunday aimed at customers affected by the pricing disturbance. All users who were logged into the exchange’s mobile application or website during the incident will receive 20,000 won, or roughly $13.73. Clients who sold Bitcoin at the artificially low price will be reimbursed the full value of their sale, along with an additional 10 percent labeled as consolation money. The platform has also waived trading fees for all customers for one week starting Monday.
Lee told reporters that the company has already retrieved 99.7 percent of the erroneously credited Bitcoin. The remaining 0.3 percent—worth about $123.4 million at current market prices—was covered with corporate assets, he said, emphasizing that no customer funds were used to offset the shortfall.
Despite those assurances, the incident has intensified political scrutiny of South Korea’s cryptocurrency sector. The FSS chief described the episode as evidence of “regulatory blind spots” in the current legal framework and called for comprehensive digital-asset legislation capable of addressing operational, cybersecurity, and consumer-protection risks.
Imagem: Internet
Bithumb is one of the country’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges by trading volume, operating alongside Upbit, Coinone, and Korbit. While the company has not reported any on-chain losses, the bookkeeping error affected publicly quoted prices and prompted what market participants described as an unusual spike in sell orders for so-called paper Bitcoin—positions that exist only within an exchange’s accounting system.
The new oversight measures under consideration would build on guidelines issued after previous technology incidents in the broader financial sector. The FSS said it intends to coordinate with other government bodies to ensure that exchanges, electronic payment firms, and other fintech platforms comply with the forthcoming standards. In the event of future errors, institutions that cannot demonstrate adequate internal controls may face harsher penalties, including larger fines and mandatory management restructuring.
Industry analysts noted that the regulator’s stance aligns with international efforts to strengthen governance and risk management at cryptocurrency venues. Similar themes were highlighted in recent reports from the Bank for International Settlements, which urged authorities worldwide to hold exchange operators to transparency and security benchmarks comparable to those applied to traditional financial institutions.
Bithumb has not given a specific timeline for completing reimbursements but stated that all planned payments, fee waivers, and system reviews are already in progress. The company reiterated its commitment to safeguarding client assets and maintaining uninterrupted service while cooperating fully with the FSS inquiry.
Market data showed Bitcoin trading near $70,000 on Tuesday afternoon, indicating that prices on Bithumb had largely realigned with global averages after the temporary distortion. The exchange said it would publish additional updates as its internal audit proceeds and as regulators finalize upcoming compliance requirements.
Crédito da imagem: original source
