Key facts
- Bithumb has won first-instance rulings in two lawsuits against users who sold mistakenly credited Bitcoin.
- The rulings were made by the Seoul Central District Court on Wednesday and Thursday.
- One case involved a claim for 194 million won ($140,000) and the other for 5 million won ($3,600).
- The error occurred in February when 620,000 BTC was mistakenly credited to user accounts.
- Bithumb is seeking to recover proceeds from approximately 1,788 BTC that users sold before accounts were frozen.
South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb has reportedly secured first-instance victories in two lawsuits aimed at recovering proceeds from Bitcoin that were mistakenly credited to user accounts. The Seoul Central District Court ruled in favor of Bithumb on Wednesday and Thursday in two of four legal actions initiated against users who had sold the erroneously credited Bitcoin.
The ruling on Thursday pertained to a claim of 194 million won (approximately $140,000), while the Wednesday decision covered a claim for 5 million won ($3,600). Two additional lawsuits, seeking roughly 14.8 million won ($10,700) and 500 million won ($362,000), are still pending.
According to reports, both cases proceeded via public notice as court documents could not be delivered through standard methods. These rulings represent a step forward in Bithumb's efforts to reclaim funds following a significant error in February. During a promotional event on February 6, 2026, an employee mistakenly selected Bitcoin as the reward unit instead of Korean won, leading to 620,000 BTC being credited to customer accounts. At the time, this amount was valued at over $40 billion.
Bithumb stated that it managed to recover 618,212 BTC, or 99.7% of the mistakenly credited sum. However, approximately 1,788 BTC, valued at the credited balances, had already been sold by some users before the exchange froze the affected accounts. In March, Bithumb filed four unjust enrichment lawsuits against these users, reportedly seeking cash from the sales rather than the Bitcoin itself.
Separately, South Korea's Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) has initiated sanctions proceedings against Bithumb following an investigation into the February error. The regulator focused on how the exchange could credit customers with Bitcoin it did not possess. While the FSS reportedly sent an inspection opinion in early August, no final penalty has been announced. Bithumb has also faced other legal challenges this year, including a police raid on its offices in June related to an alleged hiring favoritism case, and is contesting a six-month partial business suspension over AML violations.