Bithumb’s ‘phantom bitcoin’ glitch sparks scrutiny after $43 bn error exposes crypto excha

February 9, 2026

South Korea’s second-largest cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb mistakenly credited customers with 620,000 “phantom bitcoins” worth more than 63 trillion won ($43 billion) in a rare operational failure that has triggered regulatory alarm and shaken confidence in the industry’s internal safeguards. 

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