Bithumb Wins First Trial in Lawsuit to Recover Bitcoin Overpaid in Error

South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb has won the first trial in its lawsuit seeking the return of Bitcoin mistakenly overpaid during a promotional event in February.

Judge Kim Yu-seong of the Seoul Central District Court's 90th Civil Division ruled in favor of the plaintiff on the 27th in an unjust enrichment lawsuit filed by Bithumb against user "A." The claim amount is approximately ₩194 million (roughly $140,000).

The lawsuit stems from an incident on February 6, when Bithumb erroneously overpaid 620,000 Bitcoin while distributing rewards to 249 winners of a random box event. The error occurred when the exchange intended to pay approximately ₩620,000 (about $450) in Korean won but mistakenly entered "Bitcoin" as the unit. Bithumb immediately blocked transactions upon recognizing the mistake and recovered 99.7% of the total amount through individual outreach. A separate recovery process was initiated for 1,786 Bitcoin that had already been sold, but approximately ₩700 million (about $510,000) worth of Bitcoin ultimately could not be recovered.

Some users refused to return the funds, arguing that the error was the company's fault. In response, Bithumb filed unjust enrichment lawsuits in March against four users who sold the overpaid Bitcoin and did not return the proceeds. The case ruled on this day represents the second-largest claim among the four lawsuits filed by Bithumb. The remaining three cases involve claims of approximately ₩500 million (about $360,000), ₩14.8 million (about $11,000), and ₩5 million (about $3,600), respectively.