The Lost Bitcoins
I've always wondered how many Bitcoins are lost, never to be recovered.
I read an interesting story back in 2013 (long before I had any interest in cryptocurrencies) about a man who had dumped his computer with 7500 Bitcoins valued at over £4m and had spent months looking for it in a dump site. I'm not sure how accurate this story is but it made for a good read. The story resurfaced recently but with an updated value of the loss this poor man has incurred - it's now running in the tens of millions.
Here's the story for those interested:
But this has made me think how much is currently 'lost' and will there ever be a way of recovering lost Bitcoins. The consensus on forums I've read on this topic is that it is very unlikely that a recoveries will ever be made.
Thank you for reading.
I can personally account for atleast 5 bitcoins that I have lost in one sitting may years ago. I would assume the grand total of losses would be somewhere around 40-50 btc due to improperly storing of my keys, ive been involved since back when 15 $CAD a coin.
Ouch
Yeah I've always wondered this. How many Bitcoin are lost? Also thought about people who died tragically and no one knew they had a lot of Bitcoin or something.
Wow! 7500 bitcoins lost forever? I love this world haha. Beats any sci fi novel.
I go thru lots of computers when I am scrapping them and I have been saving hard drives. I been wondering if there are any bitcoins on them but I have a lot and it would take some time to check. It would be crazy to find a hard drive that somebody forgot about from 2008 or 2009 with 50,000 bitcoins on it. Talk about a jackpot!!
How will you bypass the password?
Well I know not all wallets are encrypted, but the ones that are I would be able to do nothing. Besides what happens if there secret key was on a text file ? Unlikey but possible.
bruit force attack! I know it would take decades even with the speed our computers are improving! but it would be worth the wait!
Ha.. agreed. No worries, you can have the GRC community do it. ;)
I have always been super paranoid with my crypto keys. I can only imagine the feeling of losing even just small amounts of bitcoin. It would need therapy if I lost large amounts. haha I feel terrible for those who lost a lot.
The issue of how to deal with lost crypto is going to be something that there is no good solution for at the moment.
What will happen when people die? At the moment if their keys are lost then there funds are lost forever. They cannot be recovered.
Interesting thought provoking post.
Know that story. The interviewed him as well. It is as sad as it is in a sense funny.
I remember that story too!! I always wondered whether it was true or not... not impossible I guess!
Well, on the bright side, since they lost it they won't be able to cash out. Which means, the price will stay up.
Thats a good point as I think that many are lost due to death or even sickness of owner resulting to lost of access. Hope it goes to good causes. Good post