Uncovering Dormant Crypto Assets: Bithumb’s $200 Million Revelation
South Korean crypto exchange Bithumb has shed light on a staggering $200 million in dormant customer assets, spread across 2.6 million inactive accounts. This staggering figure offers a glimpse into the vast amounts of retail capital that remain untouched on centralized platforms. The disclosure was made as part of the exchange’s dormant asset recovery campaign, which targets users who have not logged in or traded for over a year.
According to Bithumb, the total value of dormant assets stands at approximately 291.6 billion Korean won, equivalent to $201.8 million. Notably, some of these balances have been left inactive for over a decade, highlighting a phenomenon in crypto adoption where millions of retail users entered the market during earlier bull cycles but later disengaged, leaving assets behind as attention shifted. The largest dormant holding identified by Bithumb was worth a substantial $2.84 million, while the longest period of inactivity stretched to 4,380 days, or almost a dozen years.
Unclaimed Crypto Assets Post Significant Gains
Bithumb revealed that some of the inactive assets had already posted returns exceeding 61,000% or 610x their original assets. This reflects holdings acquired in the earliest cycles of crypto, outperforming even Bitcoin (BTC) in 12-year gains. For context, CoinGecko data shows that BTC traded at around $767 on Jan. 1, 2014, roughly 12 years ago. At the time of writing, BTC traded at $87,726, representing an increase of about 11,338%, or a 114-fold rise.
All-time price chart for Bitcoin. Source: CoinGecko
Recovery Efforts and Wider Implications
Bithumb has run similar recovery efforts in previous years, including its 11th anniversary campaign last year, where 36,000 users claimed dormant assets worth about $50 million. The exchange frames the campaign as part of its broader customer-protection efforts, aiming to help users rediscover and reclaim assets they may no longer be aware that they hold. Beyond individuals, the disclosure carries wider implications for the sector, as dormant balances represent unrealized liquidity and latent supply that could re-enter markets, raising questions about how crypto exchanges communicate with inactive customers and safeguard long-forgotten funds.
The revelation highlights the need for crypto exchanges to prioritize customer engagement and asset protection. As the crypto market continues to evolve, it is essential for exchanges to implement effective strategies for re-engaging inactive users and securing dormant assets. By doing so, they can help prevent significant amounts of capital from remaining idle and promote a more vibrant and active crypto ecosystem. For more information on this story, visit the original source: https://cointelegraph.com/news/bithumb-dormant-crypto-assets-200m-inactive-accounts?utm_source=rss_feed&utm_medium=rss_tag_bitcoin&utm_campaign=rss_partner_inbound
