South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb made headlines on Friday after claims surfaced on social media that an internal error resulted in 2,000 bitcoins being incorrectly distributed to users, causing sharp price fluctuations on the platform.
summary
- Bitcoin on Bithumb temporarily traded more than 10% cheaper than other major exchanges following reports of an internal airdrop error.
- Lookonchain makes similar social media claims, claiming 2,000 were sent due to staff error $BTC In return for a small KRW fee ($133 million), it caused strong selling pressure.
- Bithumb has not acknowledged the incident, and it remains unclear whether the deal will be reversed or the funds recovered.
Bitcoin ($BTC) Bithumb was temporarily trading at more than 10% below the price on other major exchanges, an unusual deviation for the world’s largest virtual currency.
The claim was first shared by a user who claims that due to a staff error during the airdrop, users received Bitcoin instead of the intended tokens.
Damn this is crazy!!!🤯
BiTHUMB employee accidentally dispatches 2,000 users $BTC instead of $THE desired token
$THE Caused by a defect $BTC BITHUMB crashes at a price about 10% lower than the price on other exchanges pic.twitter.com/pdaLwTCufW
— Evan Luthra (@EvanLuthra) February 6, 2026
$BTC Trade with 10% discount on Bithumb
On-chain analytics firm Lookonchain also alerted to this anomaly, noting that Bitcoin on Bithumb suddenly fell more than 10% below the price on other markets.
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Lookonchain reports that 2,000 people died due to staff errors during airdrops $BTCworth approximately $133 million, will be distributed in lieu of a small Korean won compensation. Some recipients reportedly sold their bitcoins immediately, accelerating the price decline on exchanges.
Given Bitcoin’s high liquidity, exchange-specific price movements of this magnitude are rare and typically indicate operational issues or sudden liquidity shocks rather than broader market movements.
At the time of writing, Bithumb had not officially confirmed the details of the alleged transfer error or the exact amount of Bitcoin involved. It also remains unclear whether funds were successfully withdrawn, frozen or reversed, or whether affected transactions will be rolled back.
The latest report is particularly sensitive, as Bithumb is one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in South Korea and has previously faced intense scrutiny over outages, regulatory compliance, and operational controls.
Crypto.News reached out to Bithumb for comment, but did not receive a response at the time of writing.
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