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An employee at South Korean exchange Bithumb tried to gift 2,000 won (under $2) to each customer in a promotion and, by picking the wrong currency in a dropdown, sent 2,000 bitcoin instead: $40 billion handed out by mistake
On February 6, 2026, a Bithumb staffer was processing a loyalty campaign meant to hand out 2,000 South Korean won -under $2- to 695 selected customers. While entering the amount, they picked bitcoin instead of won in the currency dropdown: each customer instantly received between 2,000 and 2,490 BTC, for a total of roughly 620,000 bitcoin transferred in a single operation - north of $40 billion at the time.
Bitcoin's price on the exchange itself briefly plunged 17% as several recipients, no questions asked, rushed to cash out their windfall. Bithumb froze the affected accounts within 35 minutes and recovered 99.7% of what was sent, but 1,786 bitcoin already sold before the freeze -about $170 million- stayed missing. The incident triggered a probe by South Korean financial regulators into the exchange's internal controls.
Source: CNBC →Anyone can have a bad afternoon, don't be a coward about it!!