South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb has secured first-instance court rulings in two lawsuits aimed at recovering proceeds from Bitcoin mistakenly credited to user accounts. The Seoul Central District Court issued decisions on Wednesday and Thursday in two of four ongoing cases, according to a report by Chosun Biz.
In Thursday’s ruling, the court ordered a user to return 194 million won ($140,000) in proceeds from sold Bitcoin, while Wednesday’s decision covered a claim of 5 million won ($3,600). Two additional lawsuits seeking 14.8 million won ($10,700) and 500 million won ($362,000) remain pending. Both cases were processed via service by public notice, as defendants could not be reached through standard court delivery methods.
The errors stemmed from a February 6 promotional event, when Bithumb intended to distribute 620,000 won (approximately $420 at the time) in rewards to 249 users. An employee erroneously selected Bitcoin as the payment unit, crediting accounts with 620,000 BTC—valued at over $40 billion at the time. The exchange later recovered 618,212 BTC, representing 99.7% of the mistakenly credited amount, though 1,788 BTC had already been sold by users before accounts were frozen.
Bithumb filed four unjust enrichment lawsuits in March against users who sold the credited Bitcoin and did not return proceeds, seeking cash recoveries rather than the cryptocurrency itself. The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) of South Korea initiated sanctions proceedings in early August following an investigation into the error, which focused on how Bithumb could credit accounts with Bitcoin it did not hold. No final penalty has been announced as of publication.
The exchange continues to face regulatory and legal scrutiny. In June, South Korean police raided Bithumb’s offices as part of an unrelated investigation into alleged hiring favoritism involving lawmaker Kim Byung-ki. Additionally, Bithumb is challenging a six-month partial business suspension imposed over Anti-Money Laundering violations, with a Seoul court staying the suspension in April pending a ruling on the challenge.
