South Korea’s financial watchdog has called for stricter cryptocurrency regulations following an incident in which Bithumb accidentally credited customers with billions of dollars worth of Bitcoin. The error occurred during a promotional event and triggered heavy selling on the exchange.
Financial Supervisory Service governor Lee Chan-jin said the case exposed structural weaknesses in crypto exchange systems, particularly in information technology controls. Authorities are examining the incident thoroughly as part of extensive efforts to bring digital assets under deeper legal oversight.
Investigators said Bithumb had mistakenly distributed about 620,000 Bitcoin, of which 99.7% was later recovered. Most of the Bitcoin sold before trading was halted had already been retrieved. Lee has also raised concerns about “ghost coins,” where assets appear to exist beyond actual holdings.
The regulator stressed that users who sold the wrongly credited Bitcoin are legally required to return the funds. Lee added that stability must be ensured before crypto assets can be treated like traditional financial products, including spot Bitcoin ETFs.
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