Arkham Intelligence Discovers Millions of Unclaimed Cryptocurrency Assets Trapped in Bridge Contracts
Arkham Intelligence, a leading crypto analysis company, has made an intriguing discovery in the realm of decentralized finance (DeFi): a substantial amount of cryptocurrencies worth millions of dollars are sitting idle in various bridge contracts, waiting to be claimed. These funds, owned by both well-known figures in the crypto world and lesser-known entities, have been trapped for anywhere from a few months to over two years.
In a nutshell, Arkham Intelligence has found that millions of dollars in cryptocurrencies are lying dormant in different bridge contracts. Some high-profile whale addresses, associated with prominent crypto personalities and entities, have funds stuck in these contracts for up to two years. For instance, a wallet linked to Vitalik Buterin contains over $1 million worth of assets stuck in the Optimism bridge for more than seven months.
Other entities affected by this situation include Bofur Capital, NFT user Mike Macdonald, and a wallet connected to Coinbase. Unlike cross-chain bridges, native bridges require users to manually retrieve their funds, leading to instances where users forget about their assets.
DeFi bridge contracts play a crucial role in the ecosystem by facilitating the transfer of assets and data between different blockchain networks, promoting interoperability. However, not all bridges operate the same way. While cross-chain bridges automatically move users’ assets to the target chain, native bridges demand manual retrieval of funds. This operational difference has resulted in users forgetting about their assets, leaving them trapped in these contracts.
One of the most notable cases highlighted by Arkham involves a wallet associated with Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin. This wallet, which received 50 Ether (ETH) from Buterin himself, has had over $1 million worth of assets stuck in the Optimism bridge for more than seven months. Although this amount is a small portion of Buterin’s estimated $789 million cryptocurrency portfolio, it underscores the magnitude of the issue.
Other well-known entities impacted by this phenomenon include Bofur Capital, potentially linked to a Celsius creditor, with $1.8 million in wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) stuck in the Arbitrum bridge for 27 months. NFT user Mike Macdonald also seems to have overlooked claiming around $117,000 in assets related to CryptoPunks sales on a bridge contract.
The list of affected wallets goes beyond these high-profile instances. Arkham has identified numerous accounts holding six to seven-figure sums trapped in bridge contracts, forgotten by their owners. One example is a wallet named thomasg.eth, which has left approximately $800,000 in the Arbitrum bridge for nearly two years.
Even major cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has not escaped this trend. Arkham reported that Coinbase tried to bridge $75,000 in USD Coin (USDC) to Ethereum via the Optimism bridge six months ago, but the funds remain unclaimed on Ethereum’s base layer.
While some wallet owners may have intentionally left their funds in these bridge contracts, the large amount and extended duration of unclaimed assets suggest that many users have simply forgotten about them. Arkham has urged all individuals and entities involved to review their transaction histories and bridge activities to ensure all assets are retrieved.
The firm has taken the initiative to notify the owners of the identified wallets, reminding them of the potentially misplaced millions of dollars.
