South Korean crypto exchange Bithumb has uncovered over $200 million in inactive assets spread across 2.6 million accounts. This disclosure is part of the exchange's campaign to recover "dormant" funds and highlights how long retail capital can remain idle on centralized platforms.
Bithumb Uncovers $200 Million in Inactive Assets
According to the exchange's estimates, the total volume of inactive assets is about 291.6 billion Korean won, roughly equivalent to $201.8 million. These funds are distributed among 2.6 million accounts, with some balances remaining untouched for years.
Bithumb also noted that the largest identified inactive position was valued at approximately $2.84 million. The longest recorded period of inactivity reached 4,380 days, nearly twelve years.
Reasons and Implications of Inactive Assets
The exchange points out that many retail users entered the crypto industry during early cycles and then ceased activity, leaving funds on their accounts. As a result, these "sleeping" balances accumulate unrealized value and potential liquidity that could return to the market once owners regain access.
This accumulation of inactive funds raises questions about exchanges' communication with inactive clients and methods for safeguarding forgotten assets. It may also affect perceptions of available liquidity on the platform and potentially influence trading dynamics if large amounts of funds are reactivated.
Bithumb's Asset Recovery Campaign
Bithumb has launched a campaign to notify and assist users with inactive balances, planning to contact rightful owners directly to help restore account access. The exchange has conducted similar initiatives before and shared results from prior campaigns.
In last year's campaign, 36,000 users reclaimed assets totaling about $50 million, demonstrating that some forgotten balances can indeed be recovered. For insight into the local context and capital movement in the region, one can also refer to studies on capital outflow and changes in trading activity.
Examples of Growth in Inactive Assets
Bithumb notes that some inactive positions have appreciated over 61,000%, growing hundreds of times compared to initial investments. Such cases are mostly linked to assets acquired during the earliest cycles of the crypto market's development.
In certain instances, inactive holdings have outperformed the dynamics of the largest cryptocurrencies over extended periods, underscoring the potential value of forgotten assets for their owners.
Why This Matters
For miners in Russia with any number of devices (from 1 to 1,000), this primarily signals that exchanges hold hidden, unrealized liquidity which, upon owners' return, could impact the market. However, the direct effect on your mining and profitability is minimal — it is more a factor to consider in the overall market picture and risk management.
Additionally, Bithumb's campaign shows that exchanges actively try to return forgotten funds to owners, so keeping track of your accounts and contact details on platforms remains important. If you have accounts on centralized exchanges, periodically checking access and security settings is advisable.
What to Do?
- Check your accounts on major exchanges: ensure your contact information and recovery data are up to date, especially if you registered but never used the account.
- If you have inactive balances on centralized platforms, contact the exchange's support to restore access; for example, Bithumb announced it will notify and assist owners of such funds.
- Consider transferring significant funds to self-custody wallets (cold wallets) if you do not plan to trade regularly — this reduces the risk of losing access through the exchange account.
- Keep track of private keys and backups, store account recovery instructions securely, and periodically verify the status of your assets.
- Follow official exchange notifications and local market news; be attentive to trading activity during major liquidity updates.