The Bank of Korea (BOK), South Korea’s central bank, has proposed the introduction of crypto circuit breakers for domestic cryptocurrency exchanges, months after the Bithumb Bitcoin blunder.

 

In its recently published 2025 Payment and Settlement Systems Report, the bank recommended introducing system-level safeguards similar to the Korea Exchange (KRX) stock market circuit breakers that would automatically halt trading on crypto exchanges, especially during sharp price swings or abnormal transactions caused by large volume or erroneous trades.

 

Referencing the massive payout mishap at Bithumb in February, the BOK argued that this feature would help prevent such incidents from repeating, citing the crypto market’s lack of sufficient safeguards compared to traditional finance. It also suggested including the proposal in South Korea’s pending Digital Asset Basic Act.

 

“The virtual asset industry has inadequate internal control systems and faces weaker regulatory oversight compared to traditional financial institutions,” the bank said.

 

“It is necessary to consider introducing systemic mechanisms such as the Korea Exchange’s circuit breaker, which can block abnormal trades such as large orders or halt trading in the event of sudden fluctuations in virtual asset prices.”

 

Bithumb February Bitcoin Blunder

On February 6, 2026, Bithumb, one of South Korea’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, was running its routine “Random Box” promotional giveaway. The plan was to distribute small cash prizes totaling 620,000 Korean won (KRW), worth approximately 423 to 460 US dollars, to about 600 qualified users, with each user receiving between 2,000 and 50,000 KRW, or about 1.37 to 34 US dollars.

 

However, the situation escalated when an employee mistakenly entered “BTC” as the currency unit instead of “KRW.” As a result, the system instantly credited approximately 620,000 Bitcoin to users, with each user receiving roughly 2,000 Bitcoin.

 

Bithumb detected the error within minutes and promptly restricted trading and withdrawals on the affected accounts. The exchange was able to recover 99.7 percent of the distributed Bitcoin, while the remaining 1,788 Bitcoin that had already been sold by users were covered by the exchange’s corporate reserves.

 

While the introduction of stock-style circuit breakers for cryptocurrency exchanges appears to be motivated by a desire to protect markets, many experts argue that such measures run counter to the decentralized and borderless nature of cryptocurrency. 

 

Some warn that these guardrails could amplify risks and create price discrepancies between domestic exchanges and global markets. This, in turn, could lead to arbitrage opportunities and confusion, particularly when South Korean exchanges halt trading while the rest of the world continues.