CZ Warns Up to 20% of Mined Bitcoin May Be Lost Forever

Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) has sparked debate about Bitcoin's scarcity by suggesting that up to 20% of the cryptocurrency may be lost forever.

Citing the difficulty in determining which Bitcoin wallets are actively controlled, CZ estimates that between 10% and 20% of all mined BTC could be inaccessible due to lost private keys or forgotten recovery phrases.

This would imply that roughly two million to four million Bitcoin may be outside practical circulation, adding a new layer to understanding Bitcoin's effective scarcity.

The distinction between theoretically available supply and economically accessible supply is crucial, as it can affect the network's ability to create additional coins to replace those lost.