Bithumb wins first lawsuit to recover funds from Bitcoin error

South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb has won its first instance lawsuit seeking to recover funds resulting from a major technical error. On August 27, the Seoul Central District Court ordered a defendant to return approximately 194 million won (roughly $145,000) in unjust enrichment.

The legal action stems from a February promotional event where Bithumb mistakenly credited 620,000 BTC to user accounts instead of the intended 620,000 won in total rewards. While the exchange reported recovering approximately 99% of the erroneously distributed Bitcoin, it initiated four separate civil lawsuits to recover the remaining assets from users who sold the Bitcoin and retained the proceeds.

This ruling is the first of four ongoing lawsuits. The total claims across all cases amount to approximately 714 million won. The court's decision may set a precedent for user liability regarding erroneous cryptocurrency transfers in South Korea.