Bithumb finds over $200 million in dormant crypto across 2.6 million accounts
South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb has discovered more than $200 million in idle crypto assets sitting in roughly 2.6 million accounts that haven’t been used in years. The revelation comes as part of the platform’s dormant asset recovery campaign, which targets users who haven’t logged in or traded for over a year.
Key discoveries
Largest dormant account: One user’s account held $2.84 million after nearly 12 years of inactivity, highlighting some of the earliest crypto adopters who never returned.
Massive gains: Some dormant holdings recorded returns of over 61,000%, turning small early investments into surprisingly large sums.
Longest inactivity: The longest dormant account went untouched for 4,380 days, almost 12 years.
These findings shed light on crypto’s early retail-driven phase, when many users bought small amounts with little expectation of long-term value. Over time, some abandoned accounts as interest waned or platforms evolved, unaware that their assets had grown significantly.
Bithumb said the total inactive balances add up to about 291.6 billion Korean won (roughly $201.8 million). Some of these long-forgotten assets even outperformed Bitcoin over the same period, showing how early participation combined with long-term inactivity can generate extreme returns.
Recovery campaign
Bithumb has run similar recovery efforts before. During its 11th anniversary last year, roughly 36,000 users reclaimed dormant assets worth about $50 million. The current campaign is much larger, reflecting both the platform’s growth and the expansion of the crypto market.
The exchange plans to notify eligible customers directly and assist with account recovery, framing the initiative as part of its customer protection efforts. Experts also note that dormant balances represent latent supply that could re-enter the market in future cycles.
Industry context
Meanwhile, other exchanges are beefing up security. South Korea’s Upbit recently moved 99% of customer assets into cold storage after hackers stole about $30 million from its Solana hot wallet. This far exceeds the country’s legal requirement of keeping 80% of user funds offline. The move comes amid ongoing investigations, with early reports allegedly linking the attack to North Korea’s Lazarus Group.
