South Korean crypto firm accidentally sends $44 billion in bitcoins to users.
South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb said on Saturday it had accidentally given away more than $40 billion worth of bitcoins to customers as promotional rewards, triggering a sharp selloff on the exchange.
Bithumb apologised for the mistake, which took place on Friday, and said it had recovered 99.7% of the 620,000 bitcoins, worth about $44 billion at current prices. It had restricted trading and withdrawals for the 695 affected customers within 35 minutes of the erroneous distribution on Friday.
The exchange had planned to distribute small cash rewards of 2,000 Korean won ($1.40) or more to each user as part of a promotional event, but winners received at least 2,000 bitcoins each instead, media reports said. "We would like to make it clear that this incident is unrelated to external hacking or security breaches, and there are no problems with system security or customer asset management," Bithumb said in a statement.
But South Korea's financial regulators, including the Financial Services Commission, said the incident "has exposed the vulnerabilities and risks of virtual assets."
After an emergency meeting, the regulators said in a statement they would launch an on-site inspection of Bithumb and other crypto exchanges if irregularities are found during reviews of their internal control systems, as well as their holdings and operations of virtual assets. Bitcoin prices briefly slumped 17% to 81.1 million won on Friday evening on Bithumb, charts from the exchange show. It later recovered and last traded at 104.5 million won.
Bithumb trails Upbit, a dominant player in the South Korean crypto space.
CME Group (Chicago Mercantile Exchange) is planning to launch regulated XLM futures contracts on February 9, 2026, including standard and micro contracts.
These are cash-settled futures under U.S. regulatory oversight, appealing to institutional traders and serious market participants.
🇺🇸⚠️ According to sources referenced by Reuters, military activities by the United States involving Iran could commence within the next day.
European diplomats are indicating that the situation has become highly unstable, with military actions escalating throughout the area. 🇮🇷
🔥 Present circumstances:
Officials informing Reuters suggest that tensions have escalated to a perilous level.
Troops are being moved, readiness alerts are being heightened, and diplomatic initiatives are facing substantial strain.
🌍 Importance of the situation:
• A confrontation between the U. S. and Iran would drastically change the dynamics of the Middle East
• Energy and commodity markets could witness significant fluctuations in prices
• Global financial systems might experience considerable instability
• Neighboring nations and significant powers could quickly become involved
🛢️ Vulnerabilities in oil markets:
$XRP
Any form of conflict threatens to interrupt shipping routes, particularly around the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial energy corridor globally. 🧭 Warnings from Europe:
Authorities in Europe are reportedly warning that even a minor error at this juncture could lead to swift and uncontrollable escalation with worldwide repercussions.
⚠️ Important note:
This situation is continuing to develop based on intelligence insights and formal alerts — it is not a verified action — yet the timeframe being considered is exceedingly tight.
⏳ Final thoughts:
The coming day could be decisive. Diplomacy or conflict — the world is on edge.
The next 24 hours could be extremely uncertain and marked by sharp fluctuations, because two major events in the U.S. are happening almost at the same time.
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1 Supreme Court tariff decision 10:00 AM (ET)
$DASH
According to Polymarket
there is approximately a 71% chance that Trump's tariffs will be declared illegal, which could create significant uncertainty regarding refunds exceeding $600 billion.
2 Three Fed speeches Due to ongoing investigations against
Chairman Powell,
even a slight shift in tone could cause interest rates to change rapidly and when interest rates change, everything follows behind.