Arkham Intelligence Uncovers Millions in Unclaimed Crypto Assets Stuck in Bridge Contracts – Blockonomi
Arkham Intelligence, a crypto analytics firm, has recently uncovered a surprising trend in the world of decentralized finance (DeFi): millions of dollars worth of cryptocurrencies are languishing unclaimed in various bridge contracts. These funds, belonging to both prominent crypto personalities and lesser-known entities, have been stuck for periods ranging from several months to over two years.
TLDR
DeFi bridge contracts are essential components of the ecosystem, enabling the movement of assets and data between different blockchain networks and facilitating interoperability.Time stuck for: ~7 months
Address:https://t.co/0m6w8bQ5o0
Vitalik, if you own this address, PSA: you have a million dollars of ETH in the Optimism bridge. pic.twitter.com/AWMUbCKGJ5
— Arkham (@ArkhamIntel) April 22, 2024
The list of affected wallets extends beyond these high-profile cases. Arkham has identified dozens of accounts with six to seven-figure sums stuck in bridge contracts, forgotten by their owners.
One such example is a wallet with the ENS name thomasg.eth, which has left approximately $800,000 in the Arbitrum bridge for nearly two years.
Even major cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase seems to have fallen victim to this trend. Arkham reported that Coinbase attempted 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 it is possible that some wallet owners have intentionally parked their funds in these bridge contracts, the sheer scale and duration of the unclaimed assets suggest that many users have simply forgotten about them.
Arkham has urged all individuals and entities involved to revisit their transaction histories and bridge activities to ensure that all assets are accounted for.
The firm has taken the step of notifying the owners of the identified wallets, reminding them of the potential millions of dollars they may have misplaced.
