**Bithumb Reclaims 99.7% of Overpaid Bitcoin, Covers Remaining Shortfall**

South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb has made a major recovery after a promotional reward error credited certain user accounts with excess Bitcoin. In a statement released on Sunday, the exchange confirmed that it had recovered 99.7% of the overpaid Bitcoin (BTC) on the same day the incident occurred.

The remaining 0.3%, totaling 1,788 Bitcoin, was covered using company funds to ensure customer balances remained fully matched. "Bithumb's holdings of all virtual assets, including Bitcoin (BTC), are 100% equivalent to or exceeding user deposits," the exchange wrote.

**How Bithumb Recovered the Overpaid Bitcoin**

Bithumb explained that most of the excess Bitcoin was retrieved directly from affected accounts, while the portion already liquidated in the market required reimbursement from corporate reserves. The exchange stated that no customer assets were lost, and deposits and withdrawals continued to operate normally.

**Compensation Measures Announced by Bithumb**

In response to the disruption, Bithumb has announced several compensation measures for affected users. Each user connected to the platform at the time of the incident will receive 20,000 Korean won ($15) as a gesture of goodwill. Traders who sold Bitcoin at unfavorable prices during the volatility will receive full reimbursement of their sale value plus an additional 10% payment.

Bithumb has also waived trading fees across all markets for seven days, starting from Monday, in an effort to mitigate the impact of the incident on users.

**Background of the Incident**

The incident began on Friday when a system issue during a promotional event credited some users with an unusually large amount of Bitcoin. Briefly triggering sharp price swings on the exchange as recipients began selling the funds, Bithumb restricted affected accounts and stabilized trading within minutes to prevent broader liquidations.

While Bithumb did not disclose the total amount of Bitcoin initially credited in error, some users have claimed that the figure was around 2,000 BTC. However, Bithumb has not confirmed these estimates.

**Related Developments**

The incident highlights ongoing operational issues faced by centralized cryptocurrency exchanges. In June, Coinbase reported reducing unnecessary account freezes by 82% after upgrading its machine-learning systems and internal infrastructure. Similarly, during the Oct. 10 market sell-off, Binance users reported technical difficulties that prevented some traders from closing positions at peak volatility.

In response to these challenges, exchanges are working to improve their systems and processes to prevent similar incidents in the future.