Bithumb Reports $200 Million in Dormant Cryptocurrency Assets

Bithumb Uncovers Unused Cryptocurrency

The South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb has reported over $200 million in assets sitting dormant across 2.6 million inactive accounts. This revelation comes as part of a campaign aimed at recovering dormant assets from users who have neither logged in nor conducted any transactions for over a year.

According to Bithumb, the dormant assets total approximately 291.6 billion South Korean won (about $201.8 million), with some account balances remaining inactive for over a decade. The largest amount identified by the platform was around $2.84 million, while the longest period of inactivity spanned 4,380 days, which is nearly eleven years.

This phenomenon highlights how millions of users entered the market during the early growth cycles but subsequently lost interest, leaving their assets behind.

Additionally, Bithumb reported that some of the inactive assets recorded gains exceeding 61,000%, indicating that certain cryptocurrencies held during earlier cycles have outperformed Bitcoin. BTC was trading at approximately $767 on January 1, 2014, and is now around $87,726, reflecting a growth of about 11,338%.

The exchange has conducted similar recovery campaigns in previous years, with 36,000 users claiming dormant assets worth approximately $50 million during last year's initiative. Bithumb plans to directly notify eligible clients and provide assistance in the account recovery process.

This situation not only impacts individuals but also has broader implications for the sector, as dormant balances represent unrealized liquidity that could re-enter the market.