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South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb has reportedly won first-instance rulings in two lawsuits against its users to recover proceeds from Bitcoin it mistakenly credited to their accounts.The Seoul Central District Court ruled for Bithumb on Wednesday and Thursday in two of four lawsuits against users who sold Bitcoin mistakenly credited to their accounts, according to a Chosun Biz report.Thursday’s ruling concerned a claim for 194 million won ($140,000), while Wednesday’s covered a claim for 5 million won ($3,600). Two other lawsuits seeking about 14.8 million won ($10,700) and 500 million won ($362,000) remain pending.Both cases proceeded through service by public notice because court documents could not be delivered to the defendants through ordinary methods, the report said.The reported rulings advance Bithumb’s efforts to recover funds from its February error, when the exchange mistakenly credited 620,000 BTC, worth more than $40 billion at the time.Bithumb goes after Bitcoin sale proceedsBithumb said the error occurred during a promotional event on Feb. 6, 2026, when it planned to distribute 620,000 won, or about $420 at the time, in rewards to 249 users. An employee mistakenly selected Bitcoin instead of Korean won as the payment unit and credited customer accounts with 620,000 BTC.The exchange subsequently said it recovered 618,212 BTC, or 99.7% of the mistakenly credited amount. However, some users had already sold 1,788 BTC worth of the credited balances before Bithumb froze the affected accounts.Related: Bithumb sets 2028 IPO timetable as it overhauls internal controlsBithumb filed four unjust enrichment lawsuits in March against users who sold the mistakenly credited Bitcoin and did not return the proceeds. The company was reportedly seeking cash from those sales rather than Bitcoin.FSS begins sanctions process over Bithumb errorSouth Korea’s Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) investigated Bithumb over the Feb. 6 Bitcoin error, focusing on how the exchange could credit customers with Bitcoin it did not hold. The regulator reportedly sent Bithumb an inspection opinion in early August, formally beginning sanctions proceedings, but no final penalty has been announced.Cointelegraph approached South Korea’s Financial Services Commission (FSC), which oversees the FSS, for an update on the investigation and potential sanctions against Bithumb but did not receive a response by the time of publication.Bithumb has faced other legal scrutiny this year. South Korean police raided its offices in June as part of an unrelated investigation into alleged hiring favoritism involving lawmaker Kim Byung-ki, while the company is challenging a separate six-month partial business suspension over Anti-Money Laundering violations. A Seoul court stayed the suspension in April pending a ruling in Bithumb’s challenge.Magazine: Korean bank taps Ripple for payments, Pakistan opens crypto licensing: Asia Express
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US-listed spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) drew $232.1 million in net inflows on Wednesday, slowing from the previous day while extending their inflow streak to eight trading days.The latest inflow was down about 26% from Tuesday’s $314.4 million and marked the smallest daily total since Aug. 18, according to SoSoValue data.The eight-session streak has attracted about $2.8 billion, cutting year-to-date net outflows to about $2.03 billion. Cumulative net inflows rose to $54.6 billion, while total net assets reached $98.6 billion.Daily inflows in US spot Bitcoin ETFs since Aug. 17. Source: SoSoValueThe slowdown came as Bitcoin stalled after briefly climbing above $80,000 on Tuesday. Bitcoin traded at about $78,759 at publishing time, down 0.3% over the past 24 hours, according to CoinGecko.Despite Bitcoin’s stalled price action, crypto market sentiment strengthened on Thursday. The Crypto Fear & Greed Index rose to 71 from 65 a day earlier, remaining in “Greed” territory, according to Alternative.me.The Crypto Fear & Greed Index. Source: Alternative.meAmong altcoin funds, US spot Ether ETFs also recorded an eighth consecutive day of inflows on Wednesday, attracting $192.4 million.US-listed spot XRP ETFs attracted $28.1 million on Wednesday, their biggest daily inflow since Jan. 5, according to SoSoValue. Cumulative net inflows reached $1.62 billion.Related: Supply absorption ‘key question’ as Bitcoin fails to reclaim $80K: AnalysisThis article is produced in accordance with Cointelegraph’s Editorial Policy and is intended for informational purposes only. It does not constitute investment advice or recommendations. All investments and trades carry risk; readers are encouraged to conduct independent research.
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Wall Street research company Bernstein expects Bitcoin to recover from its latest downturn, reclaim its 2025 high and set new records in the coming years heading into the peak of its historical cycle.Bernstein expects Bitcoin (BTC) to reclaim $125,000 by late 2026 under both its base and bull cases, according to a research report published Wednesday and seen by Cointelegraph.The company said Bitcoin gained 28% over the previous 10 days after falling about 50% from its October 2025 peak, a rebound that could signal the end of the current bear cycle.The analysts’ call comes as institutional investors and corporate Bitcoin buyers play a bigger role in the market, which Bernstein said provided greater downside support during the latest cycle and contributed to a smaller drawdown than the 75% to 90% declines of previous cycles.Next cycle could see Bitcoin reach $300,000Bernstein’s base case puts Bitcoin at $150,000 by mid-2027 before reaching a cycle peak of about $300,000 in 2029. Its bull case puts the biggest crypto at $200,000 by mid-2027 and $500,000 in 2029.The company maintained its longer-term BTC target of about $1 million by 2033 under both scenarios. Bernstein’s forecast is based on Bitcoin’s historical four-year cycles, which the company links to the halving, an event that cuts the amount of new Bitcoin awarded to miners roughly every four years. Bernstein divides each cycle into four phases: breakout, hype, drawdown and accumulation.Source: BernsteinThe company then estimates Bitcoin’s potential price during those cycles by comparing it with the marginal cost of producing Bitcoin, or the estimated cost for the least efficient miners to produce new coins.Related: Strategy’s $66B Bitcoin machine hinges on capital markets, not BTC price: Report“We assume that the price-to-marginal cost multiple will behave in a similar manner to previous 4-year cycles,” Bernstein analysts said.Under Bernstein’s base case, that multiple falls from 1.4 times at Bitcoin’s $125,000 peak in 2025 to 1.25 times at a projected $300,000 peak in 2029 and about 1.2 times at $1 million in 2033.Strategy could ramp up Bitcoin buyingBernstein also expects a Bitcoin recovery to improve the outlook for Strategy, the world’s largest corporate Bitcoin holder. Strategy holds 840,447 BTC, equivalent to about 4% of Bitcoin’s maximum supply of 21 million coins.The analysts maintained their “Outperform” rating on Strategy but cut its MSTR price target to $350 from $450, citing accelerated equity dilution and its updated Bitcoin cycle outlook. MSTR closed at $126.83 on Tuesday, up 3.4% on the day, according to Yahoo Finance.Source: BernsteinBernstein said continued Bitcoin strength, combined with a recovery in Strategy’s Stream (STRC) preferred stock to around $100, could allow the company to “go kinetic again” with Bitcoin purchases after selling around 7,000 BTC in 2026. STRC closed at $97.15 on Tuesday, according to Yahoo Finance.Recent analysis from Regime Intelligence said Strategy’s Bitcoin treasury may be less vulnerable to a crypto market crash than to a prolonged loss of capital-market access, a risk that could threaten its ability to fund roughly $1.76 billion in annual obligations without selling BTC.Magazine: Bitget CEO isn’t buying the Bitcoin rally — She’s waiting for $50K
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Cointelegraph is committed to providing independent, high-quality journalism across the crypto, blockchain, AI, and fintech industries.All news, reviews, and analyses are produced with full journalistic independence and integrity. For more details on our standards and processes, please read our Editorial Policy.
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