Bithumb, one of South Korea’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, has prevailed in two lawsuits against users who sold Bitcoin that was mistakenly credited to their accounts due to a significant accounting error. The Seoul Central District Court ruled in the exchange’s favor on Wednesday and Thursday, supporting Bithumb’s efforts to recover proceeds from the accidental transfers.
Court rulings on Bitcoin proceeds
The cases stem from an incident on February 6, 2026, when Bithumb intended to distribute rewards totaling 620,000 won to 249 users as part of a promotional campaign. However, due to an employee’s mistake, the company sent out 620,000 BTC instead of the intended Korean won, resulting in an accidental windfall for the affected users.
In the rulings issued this week, the court awarded Bithumb compensation in two separate claims. The Thursday case concerned 194 million won, equal to approximately $140,000, while the earlier Wednesday judgment addressed a smaller 5 million won claim, or about $3,600. The court dealt with both defendants using public announcements after standard service of legal papers failed.
According to the rulings, Bithumb is entitled to recover the profits realized from the inadvertent sale of the miscredited Bitcoin. The exchange filed four lawsuits focusing on unjust enrichment after clients sold the received cryptocurrency.
Two further cases remain unresolved. Claims in these suits amount to 14.8 million won ($10,700) and 500 million won ($362,000) respectively.
Bithumb’s wider response and ongoing investigations
After discovering the error, Bithumb managed to retrieve 618,212 BTC, representing 99.7% of the mistakenly credited total. However, 1,788 BTC had already been sold before company officials could freeze the affected accounts.
Rather than requesting direct repayment from its users, Bithumb initiated four lawsuits in March, targeting the recovery of unjust enrichment derived from the unintended Bitcoin allocation.
The incident has drawn scrutiny from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) of South Korea, which oversees the country’s financial markets and institutions, including cryptocurrency exchanges.
At the beginning of August, the FSS issued an inspection statement to Bithumb, launching the process to determine potential sanctions. The investigation focuses on how Bithumb could allocate Bitcoin to users when those assets did not belong to the company. No sanctions have been imposed so far.
Mini dictionary: Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), South Korea’s financial regulator responsible for supervising financial institutions, securities, and the broader financial market, including oversight of cryptocurrency exchanges.
Additional legal issues and future outlook
Bithumb also faces unrelated legal challenges. In June, police raided its offices as part of an investigation connected to alleged preferential hiring involving legislator Kim Byung-ki. The exchange is additionally fighting a six-month business suspension imposed over alleged Anti-Money Laundering violations. A Seoul court stayed that sanction in April, granting Bithumb temporary relief.
The recent court decisions mark a key development in Bithumb’s efforts to recover significant funds lost as a result of the February Bitcoin crediting mishap. Attention now turns to the outcome of the remaining civil lawsuits as well as regulatory actions under consideration by the FSS.
