TLDR

• Bithumb mistakenly credited 2,000 BTC to hundreds of users, triggering a flash crash.
• Bitcoin briefly traded 10% below global prices due to sudden localized sell-offs.
• Exchange reserves limited withdrawals, preventing larger-scale market disruption.
• Immediate action by Bithumb aimed to recover wrongly deposited BTC and stabilize trading.

Bithumb fat-finger error briefly sent Bitcoin prices tumbling on the exchange after a system mistake credited around 2,000 BTC (~$130 million) to users instead of the intended 2,000 KRW reward, triggering large sell orders and a local flash crash before prices rebounded.

Prices on Bithumb sank to roughly ₩81.1 million, far below other markets, before stabilizing.

Accidental Bitcoin Distribution and Market Reaction

Bithumb, South Korea’s second-largest cryptocurrency exchange, mistakenly deposited around 2,000 BTC into hundreds of user accounts.

Reports indicate a staff member intended to send a 2,000 KRW reward, but accidentally selected BTC as the currency.

Once the Bitcoin landed in user accounts, some recipients quickly sold it, likely anticipating recovery actions by the exchange. This sudden sell-off caused Bitcoin on Bithumb to trade nearly 10% below global market levels. 

The local market experienced a sharp liquidity shock rather than a broader Bitcoin decline. One-minute trading charts show a near-vertical drop, followed by a long downside wick, reflecting the sudden surge in sell orders. 

Arbitrage traders and automated bots quickly responded, buying BTC at prices significantly lower than those on other exchanges. The bounce back in price demonstrates short-term market corrections due to mispricing rather than a return of investor confidence.

Users on social media reported the flash crash in real time, noting the extreme volatility. The combination of human error, thin order books, and automated trading created a brief but dramatic market distortion. 

The incident highlights the speed at which operational errors can impact local exchange markets.

Exchange Reserves and Recovery Measures

Despite the massive credited amount, Bithumb’s actual Bitcoin reserves prevented full withdrawals. The exchange reportedly holds about 50,000 BTC, limiting the possibility of large-scale asset outflows despite system-recorded deposits far exceeding actual holdings.

More than 500 BTC were sold immediately, causing price disruption, but a broader market collapse was avoided. The exchange acted quickly by suspending deposits and withdrawals and inspecting servers. 

Bithumb confirmed that most wrongly deposited BTC could be recovered, although assets already sold or transferred overseas may be difficult to reclaim fully.

Regulatory scrutiny is ongoing, as Bithumb faces potential fines related to anti-money laundering compliance. The incident occurred amid volatile Bitcoin markets, emphasizing that centralized exchanges are single points of operational risk. 

Even minor errors, such as event reward distributions, can lead to rapid price swings and localized market instability.

The episode provides a clear example of how technical mistakes intersect with liquidity and trading behavior. While the immediate threat was contained, the incident shows the vulnerabilities that centralized exchanges face when internal controls fail.

Crypto’s latest sell-off isn’t just a price story. It’s shaping balance sheets, influencing how spot ETFs behave in stressed markets and altering the way mining infrastructure is used when volatility rises. This week, Ether’s slide has pushed ETH below the $2,200 mark, testing treasury-heavy corporate crypto strategies, while Bitcoin ETFs have handed a new cohort of investors their first sustained taste of downside volatility. At the same time, extreme weather has reminded miners that hash rate remains tethered to grid reliability, and a former crypto miner turned AI operator is illustrating how yesterday’s mining hardware is becoming today’s AI compute backbone.

Key takeaways

• BitMine Immersion Technologies, led by Tom Lee, is dealing with mounting paper losses on its Ether-heavy treasury as ETH dips and market liquidity tightens, with unrealized losses surpassing $7 billion on a roughly $9.1 billion Ether position that includes the purchase of 40,302 ETH.
• BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) has seen underwater performance for investors as Bitcoin’s retreat from peak levels deepens, underscoring how quickly ETF exposure can shift from upside to downside in a volatile market.
• A late-January US winter storm disrupted bitcoin production, highlighting the vulnerability of grid-dependent mining operations. CryptoQuant data show daily output for publicly listed miners fell sharply during the worst of the disruption, then began to rebound as conditions improved.
• CoreWeave’s transformation from a crypto mining backdrop into AI-focused infrastructure underscores a broader trend: yesterday’s mining hardware and facilities are increasingly repurposed to support AI data centers, a shift reinforced by major financing—Nvidia’s $2 billion equity investment.
• Taken together, the latest developments illustrate how crypto sell-offs ripple through treasuries, ETFs and the physical infrastructure that underpins the network, prompting a re-evaluation of risk management and asset allocation in the sector.

Tickers mentioned: $BTC, $ETH, $IBIT, $MARA, $HIVE, $HUT

Market context: The drawdown comes as institutional crypto exposure faces a confluence of price volatility, liquidity concerns and cyclical demand for compute capacity. ETF inflows and outflows tend to respond quickly to price moves, while miners’ production patterns reveal how power and weather can shape output in a grid-sensitive ecosystem.

Why it matters

The balance-sheet story around crypto treasuries is front and center again. BitMine’s exposure underscores the risk of anchoring large corporate reserves to volatile assets that can swing meaningfully within a single quarter. When assets sit in the treasury, unrealized losses are a function of mark-to-market moves; they become a real talking point when prices slip and capital-mix decisions come under scrutiny. The company’s $9.1 billion Ether position — including a recent 40,302 ETH purchase — highlights the scale of the risk, especially for a firm that seeks to model ETH performance as a core axis of its treasury strategy.

On the ETF side, investors in the IBIT fund have learned a hard lesson about downside risk in a bear market. The fund, one of BlackRock’s notable crypto vehicles, surged to become a flagship allocation for many buyers before the price retraced. As Bitcoin traded lower, the average investor’s position moved into negative territory, illustrating how quickly ETF performance can diverge from early expectations in an abrupt market reversal.

Weather and energy costs are still a significant constraint for miners. The winter storm that swept across parts of the United States in late January disrupted energy supply and grid stability, forcing miners to reduce or curtail production. CryptoQuant’s tracking of publicly listed miners showed daily Bitcoin output contracting from a typical 70–90 BTC range to roughly 30–40 BTC at the storm’s height, a striking example of how energy grid stress translates into on-chain results. As conditions improved, production resumed, but the episode underscored the vulnerability of hash-rate operations to external shocks beyond price cycles.

The AI compute cycle is reshaping the crypto infrastructure landscape. CoreWeave’s trajectory—from crypto-focused computing to AI data-center support—illustrates a broader redeployment of specialized hardware. As GPUs and other accelerators pivot away from proof-of-work demand, operators like CoreWeave have become a blueprint for repurposing mining-scale footprints to power AI workloads. Nvidia’s reported $2 billion equity investment in CoreWeave adds a regional confidence boost, reinforcing the view that the underlying compute fabric developed during the crypto era is now a critical layer for AI processing and data-intensive workloads.

Altogether, the latest data points outpace simple price narratives. They illuminate how markets, capital structures and infrastructure intersect in a bear environment, revealing both fragility and resilience across different segments of the crypto ecosystem. The convergence of treasuries exposed to ETH, ETF holders re-evaluating allocations, weather-driven production swings, and infrastructure migration toward AI all signal a period of recalibration for investors, builders and miners alike.

What to watch next

• BitMine’s forthcoming disclosures or earnings updates to gauge whether unrealized Ether losses translate into realized losses or further balance-sheet write-downs.
• Performance of IBIT as BTC prices stabilize or fall further, and whether new inflows offset earlier drawdowns for long-term holders.
• Mining sector resilience data, including weekly production numbers and energy-grid reliability metrics, to assess ongoing sensitivity to weather and energy costs.
• CoreWeave and similar AI-focused infrastructure players’ investment milestones and capacity expansions, particularly any additional financing or partnerships with AI developers.

Sources & verification

• BitMine Immersion Technologies’ Ether-related balance-sheet disclosures and references to unrealized losses as ETH trades below prior highs.
• Performance and investor commentary regarding BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) amid BTC price moves and ETF liquidity.
• CryptoQuant data detailing miner output fluctuations during the US winter storm and the subsequent recovery.
• Reporting on CoreWeave’s transition from crypto mining to AI infrastructure and Nvidia’s equity investment in the company.

Crypto market stress and the AI-backed data-center shift

Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) and Ether (CRYPTO: ETH) remain the two largest macro anchors in the crypto market, and their price trajectories continue to drive a wide array of spillover effects. The current pullback has placed a spotlight on how corporate treasuries are risk-managed during drawdowns, as well as how ETFs react when underlying assets encounter extended price pressure. BitMine’s Ether-heavy treasury is a case in point: with ETH hovering around the low-$2,000s, unrealized losses have mounted, illustrating the trouble with balance sheets anchored to a single, volatile asset. The company’s substantial Ether position, including a notable addition of 40,302 ETH, points to strategic bets on long-term exposure that, in the near term, translate into large mark-to-market swings. In this environment, even if losses remain unrealized, they shape investor sentiment and the risk calculus behind future capital raises or debt covenants.

The ETF angle adds another dimension to risk transfer. IBIT, the flagship BlackRock product, has exposed investors to Bitcoin price action in a new cycle, and the downturn has drawn attention to the sensitivity of ETF performance to rapid price moves. The fact that the fund’s investors have found themselves underwater — a reminder of how quickly market timing can unravel in a bear phase — underscores the need for robust risk controls around ETF allocations in crypto portfolios. The ETF’s ability to scale rapidly to a substantial asset base is impressive, but downtrends reveal the volatility that sits just beneath the surface of even the most sophisticated products.

Meanwhile, miners faced a concrete operational test in late January as a winter storm swept across the United States. The weather disrupted power delivery and grid operations, forcing several public miners to dial back production. CryptoQuant’s daily output data for major operators tracked a sharp decline from the usual 70–90 BTC per day to roughly 30–40 BTC during the storm’s peak, illustrating how grid stress translates into lower on-chain activity. This temporary slowdown is a reminder that mining is not a purely financial activity; it remains deeply connected to physical infrastructure and regional energy dynamics. As grid conditions improved, production began to rebound, revealing the sector’s capacity to adapt under adverse circumstances.

Against this backdrop, CoreWeave’s pivot from crypto mining to AI infrastructure emphasizes how the compute ecosystem evolves across cycles. The company’s transformation, coupled with Nvidia’s $2 billion investment, reinforces the idea that the compute fabric built during the crypto era has broad relevance for AI workloads and high-performance computing. This shift is not merely tactical—it signals a longer-term trend where hardware and facilities originally designed to support crypto mining become foundational for AI data centers and other compute-intensive applications. For operators, the challenge is to manage this transition smoothly, align financing with new business models, and keep services competitive in an environment where demand for AI-ready infrastructure remains strong.

In sum, the latest market moves illuminate a market in transition: from price-driven narratives to structural ones where balance sheets, ETF dynamics, weather-sensitive operations and AI compute needs converge. The next few quarters will reveal whether this confluence accelerates consolidation, prompts more diversified treasury strategies, or fuels a new wave of infrastructure repurposing across the crypto space and beyond.

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Bitfarms (BITF) is moving its legal base from Canada to the United States and will rebrand as Keel Infrastructure as part of its pivot from bitcoin mining BTC$70,192.09 to data center development for high-performance computing (HPC) and artificial intelligence (AI) workloads.

The redomiciling process, announced in a Friday press release, will be subject to shareholder, regulatory and court approvals. A shareholder vote is scheduled for March 20, and if approved, the company expects the transition to close by April 1. The new parent company, to be incorporated in Delaware, will trade on the Nasdaq and Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol KEEL.

Bitfarms’ stock rose 18% following the news, erasing Thursday’s 16% tumble as AI infrastructure and crypto stocks sold off.

The rebrand and relocation follow a year-long strategic review by Bitfarms, which assessed market trends and investor sentiment, CEO Ben Gagnon said. The U.S. move will help the company access a broader pool of capital, simplify its corporate structure, and position it more directly in front of institutional investors, he added.

“We are no longer a Bitcoin company,” Gagnon said in a statement, “We are an infrastructure-first owner and developer for HPC/AI data centers across North America.

To support its new focus, Bitfarms has begun repaying its $300 million credit facility from Macquarie Group, starting with $100 million tied to its Panther Creek site in Pennsylvania. The repayment reduces debt while preserving what the company says is a strong liquidity position — $698 million as of Feb. 5 — comprised largely of cash and bitcoin.

Following the move, Bitfarms will maintain its operational sites in Canada and the U.S., but its New York City office will become its sole headquarters.

Crypto markets are adding to overnight gains in U.S. morning trade on Friday, with bitcoin BTC$69,821.46 climbing above $68,000, up nearly 17% since hitting $60,000 late yesterday.

Bitcoin is now higher by 2.5% over the past 24 hours. Ether ETH$2,041.83 is up 2.2% and solana SOL$86.27 2%. Outperforming is XRP XRP$1.4601, which has climbed to $1.50, now higher by 17% over the last day.

Crypto-related stocks are seeing major upside moves Friday after plunging in the previous session.

Strategy (MSTR) — which reported a $14.2 billion fourth-quarter loss late Thursdy — is higher by 14%, though at $122, still lower by 22% year-to-date. Galaxy Digital (GLXY) is up 15% and bitcoin miner MARA Holdings (MARA) is up 12%.

Underperforming on Friday is bitcoin miner-turned AI infrastructure provider IREN (IREN), down 1.8% after disappointing earnings results Thursday night.

Saylor gets serious about Quantum

Those looking for bottom signals are pointing to last night’s Strategy earnings call in which Michael Saylor pledged a commitment to leading a Bitcoin security program that will address the quantum threat.

Some in crypto have argued that bitcoin’s security model faces a serious threat from quantum computing — a threat so imminent that many investors are either selling or refusing to allocate to bitcoin at all.

“Saylor’s announcement tells me prices have finally gotten the Bitcoin community to acknowledge and address quantum risk,” wrote Quinn Thompson.

Poised for technical bounce

Paul Howard, director at crypto trading firm Wincent, noted that bitcoin is now back at price levels last seen 14 months ago with key momentum indicator RSI flashing deeply oversold conditions. He added that trading volumes in BTC and ETH have surged to their highest in over two years. That technical setup that often invites at least a short-term bounce.

“It would be odd if we did not see at least some short term reversion here,” he said.

Updated (14:55 UTC): Adds price of bitocin rising past $70,000.

Ether (ETH) has fallen by 30% over the past seven days, sliding to $1,900 from $2,800. The drop was accompanied by a sharp decline in futures activity, with Ether’s open interest falling by more than $15 billion over the same period.

Analysts are now focusing on the long-term technical zones and onchain indicators that may signal a major turning point for ETH price.

Key takeaways:

• Ether has dropped 30% in seven days, slipping below the $2,000 psychological level.

• Yesterday’s ETH price crash now brings $1,000-$1,400 into focus.

ETH drops with the crypto market

The ETH/USD pair dropped below $2,000 for the first time since May 2025, reaching a nine-month low of $1,740 on Friday. While Ether has since recovered to $1,900 at the time of writing, it has recorded the largest weekly drawdown of 30% among the top-cap cryptocurrencies.

Related: Trend Research dumps over 400K ETH as liquidation risk rises

Bitcoin (BTC), the market leader, was trading at $66,340 at time of writing, down 21% over the last seven days. Fifth-placed XRP (XRP) has lost more than 21% over the last week to trade just above $1.37. Solana (SOL) has also posted significant losses among the top 10 cryptocurrencies, down 29% over the same period.

As a result, the global crypto market capitalization is down 20% over the week toward $2.23 trillion on Friday.

Ether’s slump this week is accompanied by significant long liquidations totaling $400 million over the last 24 hours, signaling intense selling by traders.

The sellers were also US-based spot Ether ETFs, which have recorded $1.1 billion in net outflows in the past two weeks. 

Coupled with increased selling from other major ETH holders such as Trend Research, and Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin, this points to unrelenting overhead pressure that could push ETH price lower.

How low can ETH price go?

Ether’s bearishness over the last two weeks has seen it lose two key support levels, including the 200-week simple moving average (SMA) and the psychological levels at $3,000 and $2,000.

The last time ETH decisively dropped below the 200-week SMA was in March 2025, which was followed by a 45% drop in price.

If history repeats, the ETH/USD pair will extend the downtrend toward $1,400.

This level aligns with the bearish target of an inverse V-shaped pattern at $1,385, representing a 28% drop from the current price.

As Cointelegraph reported, an inverse cup-and-handle pattern places the downward target at $1,665, while MVRV bands point to a target of $1,725. 

Onchain analytics platform Lookonchain highlighted three major liquidation zones around $1,500, $1,300 and $1,000, which could act as magnets for Ether’s price before a potential bottom.

Glassnode’s UTXO realized price distribution (URPD), showing the average prices at which SOL holders bought their coins, reveals that there is little previous volume below $1,900. In other words, buyers might not step in before the price drops to the aforementioned support levels.

The next significant support sits at $1,200, where approximately 1.5 million ETH were previously acquired.