Lost Bitcoins Hit Record High Amid Rising Institutional Demand

The estimated 3.56 million Bitcoin considered lost represents approximately 17.7% of Bitcoin's circulating supply, according to CryptoQuant analyst Darkfost.

This highlights one of Bitcoin's unique characteristics: unlike traditional currencies, Bitcoin can become permanently inaccessible when private keys are lost or wallets can no longer be recovered.

The figure is a substantial portion of the cryptocurrency's available coins, and has important implications for the market. Bitcoin's price is determined by supply and demand, so if a significant portion of the existing supply is effectively unavailable, the amount of BTC that can actually circulate among investors could be smaller than the headline circulating-supply figure suggests.