7th February 2026 > > Bithumb & PACs.

tl;dr

Bithumb made a mistake. Saurav Ghosh is mistaken, wilfully or inadvertently I leave up to you.

Market Snap

Market Wrap

A nice little rebound driven by some bottom fishers that resulted in a net inflow day for the spot BTC ETFs. Volatility is back, and that is no bad thing, especially if it cements this huge reduction we have seen in the value of outstanding interest in perpetual futures, which is down roughly 50% from just a few months ago.

The short-term outlook remains negative for now, likely providing better and more juicier opportunities later in this downturn for those with a long-term view.

Curious Cryptos’ Commentary – h/t Dr. Chloe

https://x.com/bitcoin_teddy/status/2018327110671122930

Curious Cryptos’ Commentary – Some people get lucky sometimes

Bithumb, a South Korean centralised cryptocurrency exchange, has been running a promotion in which random users are selected to receive 2,000 KRW (Korean Won), worth approximately $1.40. Not the most generous of promotions granted, but I think one should always take free money when offered.

A fat-finger mistake by an employee who accidentally mistyped BTC instead of KRW resulted in an off-chain distribution of 620,000 BTC worth $44bn to the winners of the KRW promotion. Receiving 2,000 BTC is rather more appealing than 2,000 KRW. A flood of sell orders on the exchange briefly took BTC down 10% compared to other exchanges, a situation which grabbed the attention of management who quickly realised the mistake. Over 99% of the assets have been retrieved by the simple process of reversing the off-chain transactions.

That still leaves upwards of several hundred million dollars of BTC unaccounted for. The exchange claims that none of the missing BTC has been transferred out of the exchange (and therefore on chain) but methinks they are telling porkies on that point, for the press release tell us:

“We plan to accurately match the BTC quantity that has not been recovered and has already been sold in this remote accident using the company's assets.”

For those that did cut and run, I think an urgent trip to the lawyers is required, just in case.

Curious Cryptos’ Commentary – Crypto PACs

Ahead of the mid-terms in November, there is significant money flowing into the crypto-focussed PACs, the largest of which is Fairshake with $190mm of cash to splash. Note that the crypto PACs are not partisan – they will support any pro-crypto candidate over any denier of liberty and freedom. The fact that most of the time that might look partisan is not the fault of the PACs.

Saurav Ghosh, direct of the Campaign Legal Center, is somewhat upset:

“This kind of influence buying ultimately undermines the democratic process by marginalizing everyday Americans, ensuring that their voices and interests take a backseat to the crypto industry’s deregulatory desires.”

Just how ill-informed must you be to make that statement? The crypto industry has always been entirely unregulated until the passing of the GENIUS Act last year, driven by the crypto industry. Apart from Coinbase, currently at least, the CLARITY Act is desired by the crypto industry. There is no-one, apart from the occasional maxi, who does not want regulation for cryptos.

Either Ghosh is an outright liar or doesn’t know his onions from his toenails.

…

The other vital bit of information that Ghosh ignored – deliberately or otherwise – is that Fairshake spent a little more supporting Democrats than Republicans at the last election, admittedly by a tiny margin.

In any case, lobbying by vested interests is a feature of all elections in all Western countries. Having it out in the open, with documented income and expenditure subject to audit, is the right approach. Cherry-picking who can and who can’t lobby in the manner desired by Ghosh is a slippery slope to authoritarianism. One just knows he loves the idea of CBDCs.