The logo of Bithumb at its cryptocurrencies exchange in Seoul, South Korea, on Jan. 11, 2018. Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters
SEOUL—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 apologized for the mistake, which took place on Friday, and said it had recovered 99.7 percent 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.
