Bithumb launches legal action to recover 7 Bitcoin from payout error

South Korean crypto exchange Bithumb files for a court-approved asset freeze to reclaim 7 BTC remaining from a February payout error.

South Korean crypto exchange Bithumb has begun legal proceedings to recover 7 Bitcoin still missing from a payout error that saw 620,000 BTC mistakenly distributed during a promotional event in February.

The exchange has filed for a provisional attachment, a court-approved measure that freezes assets ahead of a civil lawsuit, targeting users who have yet to return the funds, according to a Thursday report by local outlet Chosun Biz.

On Feb. 6, the exchange wanted to distribute a total of 620,000 won ($420) to 249 event winners. Instead, due to an input error, the system sent out 620,000 Bitcoin (BTC), briefly valuing the mistaken transfer at roughly 62 trillion Korean won ($42 billion). Although the exchange reversed the transactions within minutes, a portion of the funds had already been moved.

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