The South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb faced a serious operational issue on February 6, 2026, which quickly led to a double-digit drop in the BTC/KRW trading pair.
The episode brings to light old controversies involving the exchange, such as instances of partial liability in data leaks.
According to reports, a team member mistakenly sent 2,000 Bitcoin (BTC) to hundreds of users, when in fact the prize was supposed to be 2,000 Korean won (KRW).
The error triggered an immediate wave of sales, causing the price of Bitcoin on the exchange to fall more than 10% below the global quote.
A member of Dumpster DAO, Definalist, was the first to disclose the incident, citing a routine airdrop created as an incentive for platform users.
During the confusion, some users managed to profit considerably from the error by selling the unexpected Bitcoin balance at market prices.
It looks like hundreds of users got that accidental 2,000 BTC. It’s a total comedy of errors—apparently, a staff member meant to give out 2,000 KRW as a random box prize but typed BTC instead. Crazy to think that exchanges can still do paper trading like this, even in 2026.
lmao https://t.co/RGwXzbUBDN pic.twitter.com/fEnfxAWhJO
— Definalist (@definalist) February 6, 2026
The accidental distribution of BTC raised questions about internal controls and risk management in crypto exchanges, especially those dealing with high-value digital assets.
“… It's impressive to think that exchanges still engage in fictitious trading like this, even in 2026,” said Definalist.
However, the decline in Bitcoin's price was confined to Bithumb due to the exchange's isolated order book. Users quickly traded the received BTC, depleting local liquidity and causing a 10% drop in prices on the platform.
Other exchanges were not affected, as the selling pressure did not reach their markets, and global arbitrage mechanisms had not yet corrected the discrepancies, keeping the impact confined.
Despite this, the episode highlights operational risks that persist even in large exchanges, even with years of industry maturation. The case shows that a simple human error can trigger a strong market impact.
Bithumb did not immediately respond to BeInCrypto's request for comment and has not yet released a public position on potential corrective measures.
Still, the case may affect market participants' confidence in the short term, especially in exchanges where operational failures have a direct impact on prices.
Operational history and corporate changes at Bithumb highlight ongoing risks.
Bithumb itself has a history marked by security and operational issues. In 2017, a data leak exposed customer information, and in a 2020 ruling, local media reported that the exchange was found partially responsible in a case where a user lost $27,200.
The court determined that, although Bithumb's database was accessed, the plaintiffs should have identified the fraudulent attempts, awarding only $5,000 as compensation.
Other claims were rejected because the court concluded that private data could have been obtained from other sources.
Bithumb has also undergone significant corporate changes in recent years. In 2018, the exchange sold a 50% stake to BK Global Consortium, led by startup investor Kim Byung-gun, then the fifth largest shareholder of the company.
This acquisition occurred amid a pullback in crypto sector investments. According to a report by FinTech Global, global crypto investments reached $7.62 billion in 2018, falling to $3.11 billion in 2019. In the first half of 2020 alone, the sector raised $578.2 million.
The recent error amplifies the historical challenges of Bithumb's operations, reinforcing the perception that, although crypto adoption is advancing, the sector is still subject to human and technical failures, including in leading exchanges.
The article Accidental airdrop of 2,000 BTC causes a 10% drop in Bitcoin's price on the exchange was first seen on BeInCrypto Brasil.
