The South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb revealed that over $200 million in customer assets remain inactive across 2.6 million accounts, shedding light on the substantial retail capital that is still dormant on centralized platforms.
This announcement was made as part of the exchange’s initiative to recover dormant assets, specifically targeting users who haven’t logged in or traded in over a year. Bithumb estimates that dormant assets amount to approximately 291.6 billion Korean won (around $201.8 million), with some accounts inactive for more than ten years.
Bithumb identified its largest dormant asset holding, valued at about $2.84 million. Additionally, the longest period of inactivity recorded extended to 4,380 days, nearly twelve years.
This situation underscores a trend in crypto adoption, where millions of retail users initially entered the market during past bull runs only to later withdraw, leaving their assets behind as focus shifted elsewhere.
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Bithumb reports some inactive assets yielded gains of 61,000%
Bithumb noted that certain inactive assets have generated returns surpassing 61,000% or 610 times their initial value, reflecting the performance of holdings acquired in the earliest days of cryptocurrency.
This indicates that some unclaimed cryptocurrency on the exchange has outperformed Bitcoin (BTC) in terms of 12-year gains.
Data from CoinGecko indicated that BTC was trading at approximately $767 on January 1, 2014, about twelve years ago. As of the latest data, BTC is priced at $87,726, marking an increase of around 11,338%, or a 114-fold value rise.
The exchange has conducted similar asset recovery campaigns in prior years. During its 11th anniversary campaign last year, it reported that 36,000 users reclaimed dormant assets totaling around $50 million.
Bithumb framed this campaign as part of its extensive customer protection strategy, aiming to assist users in rediscovering and reclaiming assets they might not be aware of holding. The exchange intends to reach out to eligible customers directly and offer support in recovering their accounts.
On a broader scale, this disclosure has significant implications for the cryptocurrency sector. Dormant balances signify unrealized liquidity and hidden supply that could eventually regain entry into the markets.
It also prompts considerations regarding how cryptocurrency exchanges engage with inactive customers and ensure the safety of long-forgotten funds.
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