910,000 Ethereum (ETH) Permanently Lost Due to User Mistake… Damages Approximately KRW 4.7228 Trillion

A significant amount of Ethereum (ETH) has been reported to have irreversibly disappeared due to user errors. Technical mistakes such as burn addresses or malfunctioning smart contracts have resulted in approximately 913,111 ETH, currently valued at around 4.7228 trillion won (34 million dollars), being permanently inaccessible. The data was analyzed by Coinbase product manager Conor Grogan based on on-chain data as of January 31, 2025, representing 0.76% of the total circulating supply. He explained that such losses mostly stem from sending ETH to incorrect addresses or locking funds in smart contracts with functional defects. Additionally, potential unaccounted losses from private key losses or abandoned wallets are estimated to be much larger. Specific cases were also presented in the report. Notably, a Parity wallet bug in 2017 blocked user funds of 306,000 ETH (approximately 1.5831 trillion won). Other examples include 60,000 ETH (about 310.5 billion won) locked in QuadrigaCX's smart contract, 11,500 ETH (about 59.5 billion won) lost due to a smart contract error in the Akutars Non-Fungible Token project, and 25,000 ETH (about 129.2 billion won) accidentally sent to burn addresses. Moreover, Ethereum was identified as the blockchain network experiencing the most attacks. Blockchain security firm CertiK reported in their 'Hack3d' report for the first half of 2025 that total cryptocurrency security incident damages reached approximately 3.4333 trillion won (247 million dollars). Among these, 175 hacking incidents targeted Ethereum, resulting in losses of about 2.2657 trillion won (163 million dollars). Wallet hacking caused the most financial damage, while phishing was the most frequent type of attack. This situation arises because Ethereum is the center of DeFi, with thousands of smart contracts constantly operating, making it an attractive target for hackers. The fact that trillions of won worth of assets are still deposited on the platform is also considered a risk factor. Conor Grogan stated, "Most importantly, the currently aggregated losses are a minimum estimate," and "The actual inaccessible ETH assets could be much higher." Careful user education, enhanced security, and establishing strict smart contract verification procedures for Ethereum holders are urgently needed.