South Korean Exchange Loses $5 Million in Accidental Bitcoin Airdrop

South Korean crypto exchange Coinnest 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.

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.

Coinnest’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.

Coinnest has found itself embroiled in controversy before. Last year, CEO Kim Ik-hwan was reportedly detained by South Korean police on concerns that he was embezzling funds from the exchange.

Prosecutors had already raided the exchange, though it is unclear if any confirmation of embezzlement was found.

South Korean won image via Shutterstock