How Much Bitcoin Is Lost Forever and How Did It Get Lost?

MakeUseOf

By Katie Rees

Published Sep 28, 2023

A surprisingly large amount of Bitcoin is permanently lost, but where is it?

Lost Bitcoin refers to BTC that the current owner can't locate, either because they forgot their private key or lost their hardware wallet device.
Estimates suggest that around 6 million BTC, or 30% of Bitcoin's supply, have been irretrievably lost, amounting to $554 billion in value.
Recovering lost Bitcoin is challenging, but services known as crypto hunters can help track down wallets if users have their blockchain ID and a guess at the password. However, the success of recovery is not guaranteed.

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