Bithumb Found 200 Million Dollars in Forgotten Accounts

South Korea's leading cryptocurrency exchange, Bithumb, has made an important announcement. In a statement, it was noted that approximately 200 million dollars worth of cryptocurrencies had been found in accounts that have been inactive for years. Bithumb has identified a total of at idle assets worth 291.6 billion won in 2.6 million accounts through a comprehensive recovery effort. This amount corresponds to approximately 201.8 million dollars at the current exchange rate.

It is particularly noteworthy that some accounts have not been active for over 10 years and have not conducted any transactions. According to information from the exchange, this campaign targets users who have not logged in or conducted any transactions in the past year. Among the accounts examined, the one with the highest balance was measured at approximately 2.84 million dollars. The account that has been inactive the longest has been dormant for 4,380 days, which is nearly 12 years.

The disclosed data clearly reveals the traces left by individual investors who entered the crypto market early but gradually became disconnected from the markets. According to Bithumb, a significant portion of these accounts was opened during the initial adoption phases of cryptocurrency, and users never returned. Another striking point is the performance of some forgotten assets; the value of some idle cryptocurrencies has recorded increases exceeding 61,000. This rate is significantly higher than Bitcoin's (BTC) long-term return of approximately 11,300 during the same period.

Bithumb also added that it would provide support in the account recovery process by directly notifying rightful users. In a previous similar campaign, 36,000 users recovered their assets worth a total of 50 million dollars. Experts point out that such idle balances could create potential hidden supply in the market. Even a small portion of these assets being made available for sale could have significant effects on prices, especially in markets with low liquidity. This situation once again highlights that a substantial capital from the early days of cryptocurrency is still silently waiting on exchange ledgers.