In a significant mishap, South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb mistakenly distributed over $40 billion worth of Bitcoin to its customers during a promotional event. According to DRM News, the error involved the distribution of 620,000 BTC to 695 users, each receiving at least 2,000 Bitcoin instead of the intended small cash bonuses. The incident, which Bithumb clarified was not due to hacking or a security breach, resulted in a sharp sell-off on the exchange, with Bitcoin prices briefly plummeting by 17% before stabilizing (B.C. Begley). The company managed to recover 99.7% of the misallocated Bitcoin within 35 minutes, as reported by B.C. Begley and DRM News.