South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb has uncovered more than $200 million in customer assets sitting idle across roughly 2.6 million accounts.
Key Takeaways:
- Bithumb identified more than $200 million in dormant crypto spread across 2.6 million inactive accounts.
- One account held $2.84 million after nearly 12 years of inactivity, highlighting early crypto adopters who never returned.
- Some dormant assets posted gains exceeding 61,000%, showing how long-term inactivity amplified early-stage crypto returns.
The disclosure came as part of a dormant asset recovery campaign aimed at users who have not logged in or traded for more than a year, according to Finance Feeds.
Bithumb said inactive balances totaled about 291.6 billion Korean won, or roughly $201.8 million. Some of the accounts flagged in the review had shown no activity for more than a decade.
Bithumb Finds $2.84M Dormant Account Idle for Nearly 12 Years
According to the exchange, the single largest dormant balance was worth around $2.84 million.
The longest period of inactivity stretched to 4,380 days, nearly 12 years, pointing to early market participants who entered during crypto’s formative years and never returned.
The findings offer a glimpse into the industry’s early retail-driven phase, when users often bought small amounts of digital assets with little expectation of long-term value.
Many of those accounts were abandoned as markets cooled, platforms evolved, or personal interest faded.
In some cases, users may have assumed their holdings were insignificant, unaware that years of price appreciation had turned them into sizable sums.
Bithumb said some dormant holdings recorded gains exceeding 61,000%, or roughly 610 times their original value.
These outsized returns reflect assets acquired in the earliest stages of crypto adoption, before broader public awareness and institutional involvement.
For comparison, Bitcoin traded at around $767 at the start of 2014. At recent prices near $87,700, that represents a gain of about 11,300%, or roughly 114 times.
Several of the forgotten assets held on Bithumb therefore outperformed Bitcoin over a similar timeframe, underscoring how early exposure combined with long-term inactivity can yield extreme results.
The exchange has run similar recovery efforts before. During its 11th anniversary campaign last year, Bithumb said roughly 36,000 users reclaimed dormant assets worth about $50 million.
The current campaign is larger in scale, reflecting both the platform’s age and the growth of the crypto market over time.
Bithumb said it plans to notify eligible customers directly and assist with account recovery, positioning the initiative as part of its customer protection efforts.
Beyond individual users, the disclosure carries broader implications for the market. Dormant balances represent latent supply that could re-enter circulation during future market cycles.
Upbit Moves 99% of Customer Assets to Cold Storage After $30M Hack
As reported, Upbit is shifting nearly all customer assets into cold storage after hackers stole 44.5 billion won (about $30 million) from its Solana hot wallet, marking one of the strongest security responses yet by a major exchange.
Operator Dunamu said the platform will raise its cold wallet ratio to 99% and reduce hot wallet exposure to effectively zero, far above South Korea’s legal requirement that 80% of user funds be stored offline.
The exchange already held 98.33% of assets in cold storage at the end of October, the highest among domestic platforms, but accelerated its overhaul following the breach.
Meanwhile, South Korean authorities have launched an investigation, and local reports have cited early intelligence assessments that allegedly connect the intrusion to North Korea’s Lazarus Group.
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