South Korea Urges Crypto Circuit Breakers After $42B Bithumb Mishap

TheNewsCryptoPublicado a 2026-04-13Actualizado a 2026-04-13

Resumen

South Korea's central bank has recommended implementing cryptocurrency exchange "circuit breakers" following a major incident on Bithumb. In February, the exchange erroneously distributed 620,000 Bitcoin (worth approximately $42 billion) to customers instead of the intended 620,000 Korean won (about $400). This triggered panic selling, causing Bitcoin's price on the platform to plummet. Although Bithumb quickly halted trading and reversed the transactions, nearly $125 million in Bitcoin had already been sold. The Bank of Korea's report emphasizes that the crypto sector lacks the stringent internal controls of traditional finance and calls for mandatory systems to detect and prevent such human errors and discrepancies in asset records. This proposal is part of broader legislative moves in South Korea to enhance the security and transparency of virtual asset exchanges.

To avoid a recurrence of the market chaos that ensued in February when Bithumb accidentally delivered over $40 billion worth of Bitcoin to its clients, the South Korean central bank has suggested that cryptocurrency exchanges have “circuit breakers” that temporarily suspend trade.

In a payments report released on Monday, the Bank of Korea suggested that legislators think about implementing measures to halt trading in cryptocurrency in the event of unexpected price fluctuations, much as the trading limitations implemented by the Korea Exchange.

Stringent Protocols

According to the bank, the virtual asset sector is currently not well-regulated and does not have the same internal control procedures as more traditional financial institutions. Therefore, the research concluded, stronger applicable policies are required to proactively avoid such instances, as they may happen at other virtual asset exchanges.

This comes at a time when politicians in South Korea are trying to enact legislation that would further regulate cryptocurrency. The Bank of Korea has said that these regulations should include its recommendations to make virtual asset exchange activities more secure and transparent.

Rather than 620,000 Korean won, which was about $400, Bithumb mistakenly transferred 620,000 Bitcoin, which was valued around $42 billion at the time, to clients in early February. According to the bank’s assessment, the price of Bitcoin on Bithumb dropped as consumers hurried to sell, which in turn caused others to panic-sell, further lowering its price.

Within minutes, Bithumb stopped trading and reversed their Bitcoin transfers. However, the exchange clarified that 1,788 BTC, or almost $125 million, had already been sold before it could take any action, and it made up the difference using corporate reserves.

Crypto exchanges should be obligated to have systems that can identify and prevent human error-induced incorrect payments, according to the Bank of Korea. It went on to say that exchanges should also be able to detect and report differences between a platform’s internal assets and those on the blockchain.

Highlighted Crypto News Today:

Bitwise Accelerates Hyperliquid ETF Debut with Revised Filing

Preguntas relacionadas

QWhat did the Bank of Korea propose to prevent a recurrence of the Bithumb mishap?

AThe Bank of Korea proposed that cryptocurrency exchanges implement 'circuit breakers' to temporarily suspend trade in the event of unexpected price fluctuations.

QWhat was the nature of the error that Bithumb made in February?

ABithumb accidentally transferred 620,000 Bitcoin, valued at approximately $42 billion, to its clients instead of 620,000 Korean won (about $400).

QWhat was the market impact of Bithumb's erroneous transfer?

AThe price of Bitcoin on Bithumb dropped as customers hurried to sell the mistakenly received funds, which triggered panic-selling and further drove down the price.

QAccording to the Bank of Korea, why is the virtual asset sector particularly vulnerable to such incidents?

AThe Bank of Korea stated that the virtual asset sector is not well-regulated and lacks the same internal control procedures as traditional financial institutions.

QWhat specific systems did the Bank of Korea suggest exchanges be obligated to have?

AThe Bank of Korea suggested exchanges should have systems to identify and prevent human error-induced incorrect payments, and to detect and report differences between a platform's internal assets and those on the blockchain.

Lecturas Relacionadas

Attention, Bitcoin Users! Today's Hack May Be Larger Than You Think. Here's What to Do

Bitcoin users are urged to take immediate action following the disclosure of a critical security vulnerability. Hardware wallet manufacturer Coinkite has revealed a flaw in the seed phrase generation process for certain Coldcard Mk3 devices running firmware versions 4.0.1 through 5.0.3. All bitcoin addresses created from seed phrases generated on these potentially affected devices are now considered at risk. This warning coincides with an ongoing investigation into a major hack that drained approximately 1,082.65 BTC (worth roughly $70.2 million at the time) from 1,196 single-signature wallets in just 41 minutes on July 30. Security analysts believe the coordinated thefts, which used identical transaction fees and left no change, were executed by an automated tool scanning for compromised private keys. Notably, this attack occurred about 30 hours before Coinkite's public disclosure of the Coldcard vulnerability, raising concerns of a possible connection. Experts strongly recommend that impacted Coldcard Mk3 users do not consider their old seed phrase safe. The advised course of action is to generate a completely new, secure seed phrase on a trusted, modern hardware wallet and then transfer all funds to addresses derived from this new seed. Simply moving the old, potentially compromised seed to a new device is not sufficient.

cryptonews.ruHace 49 min(s)

Attention, Bitcoin Users! Today's Hack May Be Larger Than You Think. Here's What to Do

cryptonews.ruHace 49 min(s)

Bitcoin in August: Experts Expect Range Testing, Not a Quick Reversal

Experts anticipate Bitcoin will remain under pressure in August, lacking momentum for a sustained rally after a partial July recovery. The price, trading around $63.5k, is seen stuck in a $60-65k range. Analysts cite a challenging macro environment of high U.S. rates, persistent inflation, and a strong dollar as key headwinds, alongside record ETF outflows. Historically, August is a weak month for crypto. Experts outline three main scenarios: a base case of sideways movement between $58-68k (50% probability), a bearish drop to $50-55k (30%), or a bullish push toward $71-75k (20%). Key levels to watch are support at $60-61k and resistance at $67k. While some see current prices as attractive for long-term accumulation, most warn of potential short-term downside, with a retest of $60k or even a fall toward $53k possible. A decisive market turnaround is not expected before Q4, making August a month for testing key levels rather than a major breakout.

cryptonews.ruHace 1 hora(s)

Bitcoin in August: Experts Expect Range Testing, Not a Quick Reversal

cryptonews.ruHace 1 hora(s)

Coldcard Hardware Wallet Hacked: 594 Bitcoin Withdrawn in 25 Minutes

The Coldcard hardware wallet has been compromised, with hackers stealing approximately 594.5 Bitcoin (~$40 million) from 500 addresses in just 25 minutes. The root cause was a critical software bug, undetected for five years, which disabled the device's secure chip for generating true random numbers. This led to the creation of private keys based on predictable data like the processor's serial number, drastically reducing cryptographic security. The attackers exploited this offline by brute-forcing possible seed phrases, finding active addresses on the public ledger, and signing transactions. Initially, Coinkite (Coldcard's maker) claimed only older models were at risk but later admitted all devices running the compromised firmware were vulnerable. CEO Rodolphe Novak (NVK) apologized but ruled out financial compensation for affected users. To secure funds, owners must urgently update their firmware to specific safe versions, generate a completely new seed phrase on the updated device, and transfer all assets to new addresses created with that new seed. While a BIP-39 passphrase can help, it does not replace this migration process. Other Coinkite products like TAPSIGNER were not affected. This incident underscores that even specialized hardware requires rigorous, independent code audits, especially for cryptographic functions. It parallels past failures, like a 2006 OpenSSL bug in Debian, and raises questions about whether automated code analysis can ever fully replace human scrutiny in critical security areas.

cryptonews.ruHace 1 hora(s)

Coldcard Hardware Wallet Hacked: 594 Bitcoin Withdrawn in 25 Minutes

cryptonews.ruHace 1 hora(s)

Tether (USDT) Publishes Anticipated Financial Results for the Second Quarter! Here's Its Current Status and Assets

Tether, the world's largest stablecoin issuer, has published its Q2 2026 financial results. According to an independent audit by BDO, the company reported a net operating profit of approximately $1.5 billion and an excess of assets over liabilities totaling $4.11 billion. As of June 30, 2026, the circulating supply of USDT was roughly $184.6 billion, marking an increase of about $446 million from the prior quarter. Tether now holds over 60% of the global stablecoin market share. The $1.5 billion profit was primarily generated from U.S. Treasury bills and repurchase agreements. Total assets stood at approximately $187.75 billion against liabilities of $183.64 billion, with $183.62 billion of liabilities tied to issued digital tokens. Key actions during the quarter included a reduction of secured loans by $2.38 billion (down 15%) and an addition of 14 tons to its physical gold holdings, bringing the total to over 146 tons. CEO Paolo Ardoino reaffirmed that USDT remains fully backed by reserves despite market volatility. He also noted that the company is undergoing a comprehensive independent audit with one of the "Big Four" accounting firms.

cryptonews.ruHace 1 hora(s)

Tether (USDT) Publishes Anticipated Financial Results for the Second Quarter! Here's Its Current Status and Assets

cryptonews.ruHace 1 hora(s)

Circle Reaches Major Regulatory Milestone, Receives Trust Charter from New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS)

Circle, a financial services and stablecoin company, announced it reached a key regulatory milestone by receiving a Limited Purpose Trust Charter from the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS). This charter allows Circle to expand its operations in New York to include asset custody services, issuance of NYDFS-approved stablecoins, and management of the reserves backing them. The approval positions Circle's USDC stablecoin within a regulated framework and follows the company's earlier receipt of a national trust bank charter from the U.S. OCC. CEO Jeremy Allaire stated this achievement reflects over a decade of compliance commitment and aligns with NYDFS's high standards, comparable to those for full commercial banks, as digital dollars become central to the global financial system.

cryptonews.ruHace 2 hora(s)

Circle Reaches Major Regulatory Milestone, Receives Trust Charter from New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS)

cryptonews.ruHace 2 hora(s)

Trading

Spot