South Korean lawmakers are ramping up strain on monetary regulators after cryptocurrency trade Bithumb mistakenly deposited Bitcoins they didn’t personal to prospects.
The Monetary Providers Fee (FSC) didn’t detect any main flaws in Bithumb’s inner programs regardless of a minimum of three inspections since 2022, the Korea Occasions reported on Thursday, lawmakers stated.
Kang Min-guk, head of the principle opposition Individuals’s Energy Social gathering, argued that the incident was greater than a technical accident and pointed to structural weaknesses within the cryptocurrency market, together with gaps in regulation and oversight.
Bithumb by chance deposited 2,000 Bitcoins ($BTC) Through the promotional occasion on February sixth, a complete of 620,000 can be distributed as an alternative of two,000 Korean gained ($1.40) per consumer. $BTC Which means that the trade didn’t truly happen.
FSC delays investigation into Bithumb, intensifying criticism
Lawmakers’ criticism of the FSC intensified as regulators delayed inspections of Bithumb. The authorities launched an investigation on February 10, with FSC officers stressing that they’d take “stern authorized motion in opposition to actions that undermine market order.”
The investigation was initially anticipated to finish on February 13, however authorities have prolonged it as a result of want for extra evaluations and are aiming to finish it by the top of February, native newspapers reported.
Bithumb CEO mentions two previous fee incidents
FSC inspections on Bithumb embrace extra than simply 620,000 latest inspections. $BTC Along with this error, there have been two related incidents up to now.
Bithumb CEO Lee Jae-won stated throughout an emergency session of the Nationwide Meeting on February 11, “There have been two circumstances up to now the place cash had been paid out by mistake after which recovered, however the quantity was minimal.”
From left: FSC Vice Chairman Kwon Dae-young, FSC Governor Lee Chang-jin, and Bithumb CEO Lee Jae-won in the course of the Nationwide Meeting session on February eleventh. Supply: Korea Occasions
Within the newest case, Bithumb introduced that it had efficiently recovered nearly all of the fraudulently trusted property, however solely 125 of them. $BTC Of the $620,000 that doesn’t exist ($8.6 million) $BTC Not collected.
Issues about South Korea’s dealing with of digital currencies: Bitcoin disappearance incident
The Bithumb incident comes as authorities face recent embarrassment over the administration and safety of seized digital property.
2021, 22 $BTC Gold cash value about $1.5 million at present costs disappeared from a chilly pockets at Seoul’s Gangnam Police Station throughout a nationwide audit.
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One other incident in August 2025 killed 320 individuals. $BTC It’s reported that he disappeared from the Gwangju District Public Prosecutors Workplace attributable to a password leak. The disclosure raised eyebrows as a result of it got here amid an ongoing FSS investigation into Bithumb, though authorities solely yesterday reported that the funds had been recovered in full after the hackers returned them.
Lawmakers and business observers say the incidents spotlight persevering with weaknesses in authorities’ oversight and management of digital property.
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