Bitcoin blunder! South Korean exchange accidentally airdrops crypto worth $5.3m after glitch

A South Korean crypto exchange is trying to recover Bitcoin worth millions after sending it out to clients by mistake.

A computer error by CoinZest led to an accidental airdrop of around six billion Korean won (around $5.3 million) in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, reports IT Media.

CoinZest is now asking customers to return the assets and has reportedly recovered half.

The glitch arose when the exchange was trying to airdrop We Game Tokens (WGT).

Coin Rivet has reached out to CoinZest for a statement.

What is an airdrop?

The basic idea behind crypto airdrops is to distribute some form of crypto-asset for free to holders of another crypto-asset in order to encourage the adoption of the offered token.

There are plenty of reasons why organisations would choose to employ airdrops. They are an effective method to gain quick network usage and create hype and buzz around a new blockchain-based enterprise, and act as a way of rewarding investors and customers.

Many companies will use airdrops for customer and marketing benefits, but some may use them because of technological reasons, such as when performing a hard fork.

Read our guide on airdrops here.