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South Korean exchange's $40B Bitcoin mistake casts pall over country's fledgling crypto legislation — staffer fat-fingered 620,000 BTC instead of Korean Won

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Tom's Hardware

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A South Korean crypto exchange, Bithumb, mistakenly issued 620,000 BTC instead of Korean Won in a promotion, causing a $40 billion error. The incident led to a temporary windfall for some users and a 17% drop in the exchange's BTC/KRW pair. Bithumb managed to reverse most transactions and is pursuing legal action against those who didn't return the funds. The event highlighted regulatory concerns in South Korea's evolving crypto landscape, as the country moves towards fully legalizing cryptocurrency trading. The incident also raised questions about detection mechanisms for such errors in exchanges.

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