Bithumb, a South Korean cryptocurrency exchange, found itself in hot water after an overpayment incident involving Bitcoin worth 60 trillion won led to 64 forced liquidations. The crisis resulted from a significant downturn in the Bitcoin market, with the price plummeting due to a sell-off triggered by the overpaid Bitcoin being sold on the market. The value of Bitcoin dropped dramatically from about 95 million won to 81.11 million won, causing collateral values in accounts utilizing lending services to fall below maintenance margin requirements and triggering forced liquidations. The estimated losses from this situation are projected to be no less than several hundred million won.

In response to the incident, Bithumb announced that it would fully compensate the customers who were forced to liquidate their accounts due to the mass selling of Bitcoin. The reported loss figures are likely to exceed the approximately 1 billion won figure Bithumb has previously mentioned, which only accounted for specific sell-off instances. Bithumb has been under scrutiny but managed to retain investor trust by promising to address the losses incurred due to mandated liquidations resulting from their system error.

Surprisingly, the aftermath of the overpayment incident saw Bithumb's market share surge rather than decline. In a strategic move to regain user trust, Bithumb opted to waive transaction fees for one week, attracting a significant influx of investors. As of the evening of October 9, Bithumb's market share climbed to 30.8%, after dipping earlier in the month; whereas, the largest exchange in South Korea, Upbit, saw its market share considerably decrease from 72.8% to lower than 55% during the crisis period. This contrast highlights the dynamic nature of investor behavior in response to market incidents and exchange asset management decisions.