Bithumb Airs 2,000 BTC Error; BTC Plunge to $55K on Platform

On February 6, 2026, Bithumb experienced a flash crash in Bitcoin (BTC) trading after an internal accounting error mistakenly credited 2,000 BTC to user wallets instead of a nominal 2,000 KRW reward. No on-chain movement occurred, but the phantom balances prompted immediate selling, sending BTC to $55,000 on the platform—about 15.8% lower than on other exchanges. The firm identified the anomaly via internal controls, restricted trading on affected accounts, and restored prices within five minutes. The incident, not related to an external hack, did not result in customer asset loss.