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South Korean Exchange Loses $5 Million in Accidental Bitcoin Airdrop
South Korean exchange Coinzest reportedly lost around $5 million when it airdropped bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies instead of WGT.
South Korean crypto exchange Coinzest is looking to take back cryptocurrencies accidentally sent to clients in an airdrop.
The exchange announced last week that some 6 billion Korean won (around $5.3 million) in bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies were sent to customers due to a computer error, according to CoinDesk Korea. The exchange was trying to airdrop We Game Tokens (WGT) when the incident occurred.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Further, due to the server issue, some customers also received Korean won from the exchange. The exchange has no plans to compensate users for any losses suffered through its server issues.
Coinzest's server issues were resolved by Jan. 19, and the company plans to roll back transactions to restore its assets. It has also asked customers to return funds they received by mistake.
As of Jan. 19, about half of the won was returned.
Some traders who received bitcoin instead of WGT reportedly sold their new holdings immediately, causing bitcoin's price to flash-crash to $50.
Correction: This article previously referred to the exchange as Coinnest. The exchange which airdropped bitcoin was Coinzest. CoinDesk regrets the error.
South Korean won image via Shutterstock
Nikhilesh De
Nikhilesh De is CoinDesk's managing editor for global policy and regulation, covering regulators, lawmakers and institutions. When he's not reporting on digital assets and policy, he can be found admiring Amtrak or building LEGO trains. He owns < $50 in BTC and < $20 in ETH. He was named the Association of Cryptocurrency Journalists and Researchers' Journalist of the Year in 2020.
