South Korean lawmakers are pressing regulators after Bithumb’s Feb. 6 Bitcoin blunder exposed critical system flaws despite multiple inspections, prompting broader exchange audits and extended investigations.
South Korean lawmakers have intensified scrutiny of financial regulators following Bithumb’s accidental distribution of 620,000 Bitcoin worth over $43 billion on Feb. 6, 2026. The error stemmed from a system bug crediting 2,000 BTC instead of ₩2,000 (~$1.38) per user. Despite six inspections from 2022 to 2025 by the Financial Services Commission (FSC) and Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), the flaw went undetected. Lawmakers allege supervisory complacency and inadequate safeguards. The FSS has extended its investigation deadline to the end of February, deploying an eight-member team to probe investor protection and AML compliance. Authorities, with the Digital Asset eXchange Alliance (DAXA), are auditing four other domestic exchanges — Upbit, Coinone, Korbit, and GOPAX — to identify control weaknesses and update self-regulatory guidelines, potentially shaping future crypto legislation.