What happens to those Bitcoins that the owners have passed away?

[ndutndut]

Satoshi Nakamoto stated:

Lost coins only make everyone else's coins worth slightly more.

Think of it as a donation to everyone." This highlights that lost Bitcoin reduces the circulating supply, potentially increasing the value of remaining coins.

If you dont like it, make sure you have a will in place

That's right. It's increasing because the number of Bitcoins in circulation is decreasing, and this is what makes Bitcoin an increasingly scarce asset. This doesn't just happen to people who die losing your wallet key or Bitcoin seed phrase is also irretrievable. That's why beginners are always encouraged to learn about wallet security before investing in Bitcoin as losing access to your Bitcoin wallet is the same as losing your assets. The assets remain in the blockchain but they can no longer be moved.

Yes, that's right. Creating a will is a viable option because no one knows how long we'll live so creating a will to someone you trust is a wise choice. This way if something happens to you your assets can still be recovered.

[Livingleged]

Those wallets owned by individuals whose private keys and recovery seed phrase have been forgotten and those individuals that have passed away, knowing that the Bitcoin blockchain security makes recovery of wallets impossible when private keys/recovery phrase are forgotten, does it now mean that those Bitcoin owned by such individuals are no longer in circulation/use, hence reducing the Bitcoin trading volume?

The simple truth is that any bitcoin that is lock to a private key can only be spent by that private key key so if you can’t sign the transaction then there is no way you can claim that bitcoin no two ways about it. If the owner of the bitcoin is dead then if nobody has his seed phrase then there is no way they can claim that bitcoin it will still be in the blockchain for as long as bitcoin exists.. That’s why it’s a decentralised system.

Can't the nodes recover them or are they automatically erased from the blockchain since they might not be probably in use?

Running a node doesn’t mean you can have access to individual private key what dey do is download blocks of transactions and save the files in their pc so there is no way they can recover any bitcoin it will remain in the blockchain for for as long as anyone could unlock those keys it’s locked with.

[Mahiyammahi]

Bitcoin being a decentralized digital asset, there is this intriguing question that made me felt uncomfortable ever since the thought came on my mind.

Those wallets owned by individuals whose private keys and recovery seed phrase have been forgotten and those individuals that have passed away, knowing that the Bitcoin blockchain security makes recovery of wallets impossible when private keys/recovery phrase are forgotten, does it now mean that those Bitcoin owned by such individuals are no longer in circulation/use, hence reducing the Bitcoin trading volume?

Can't the nodes recover them or are they automatically erased from the blockchain since they might not be probably in use?

I believe this question and every of the answers that will be provided by members here will help a lot of newbies including myself to know the importance of private keys/recovery phrase.

 Those assests can't be moved without the owner permission/signature. So without having the access of secrete phrase no one can access those wallets. Bitcoin is designed like this. To have you an actual idea , to bypass the 24 words seed phrase or crack the password by brute force it needs 2²⁵⁶ combination to crack it.

Likely anyone would be very much interested to crack ones wallet seed phrase by using quantum computer. The resource it would spent wont be worth recovering by the holding Bitcoin. If it has been possible, satoshis wallet would have been compromised by this time now.

[Antona]

Satoshi Nakamoto stated:

Lost coins only make everyone else's coins worth slightly more.

Think of it as a donation to everyone." This highlights that lost Bitcoin reduces the circulating supply, potentially increasing the value of remaining coins.

If you dont like it, make sure you have a will in place

That's right. It's increasing because the number of Bitcoins in circulation is decreasing, and this is what makes Bitcoin an increasingly scarce asset. This doesn't just happen to people who die losing your wallet key or Bitcoin seed phrase is also irretrievable. That's why beginners are always encouraged to learn about wallet security before investing in Bitcoin as losing access to your Bitcoin wallet is the same as losing your assets. The assets remain in the blockchain but they can no longer be moved.

Yes, that's right. Creating a will is a viable option because no one knows how long we'll live so creating a will to someone you trust is a wise choice. This way if something happens to you your assets can still be recovered.

Good point about the will it feels morbid but it's essential planning. The tech doesn't care if you're gone without a plan your bitcoin effectively dies with you, becoming part of the permanently lost supply setting up inheritance is a final act of good opsec.

[Cyber_warrior]

That's the reason how important for people to tell this information to their trusted family member so that they can make sure that their funds will be used by their family if there's unfortunate incident happen to them.

Some people do say when it’s come to financial aspects, you can’t trust anyone. I agree with that, someone which you trust might be the one which will end up stealing from you, so no matter how close you are with a person, when it comes to financial aspect, you have to be careful, but even with that you have to store your seed phrase in a place where your family members will be able to see if anything happens to you. Just image nobody can access your bitcoin after your death, then it’s of no use investing in bitcoin, because it’s just going to remain in your wallet without any use. If you don’t want to tell anyone about your seed phrase, then you shouldn’t hide it in a place where your family members won’t be able to see if anything happens to you.

[Sammye3]

Anyone who loses his seed phrase or private key loses his assets forever, because there is no recovery that could be possible done. It is automatically removed from circulation and is inaccessible even by Bitcoin miners or creators.

For the deceased, if the access information was shared it is possible for the assets to still be recovered or maybe in cases of multi signature wallets, but if there is no shared information or access the assets could be lost for ever. This is why it is advised to always write down recovery phrase in a safe book for record keeping.

Lost Bitcoin on the long run also helps to regulate Bitcoin price by increasing its value based on scarcity and  controlling circulation, so to some extent it's actually beneficial to the market.

[HelliumZ]

Bitcoin being a decentralized digital asset, there is this intriguing question that made me felt uncomfortable ever since the thought came on my mind.

Those wallets owned by individuals whose private keys and recovery seed phrase have been forgotten and those individuals that have passed away, knowing that the Bitcoin blockchain security makes recovery of wallets impossible when private keys/recovery phrase are forgotten, does it now mean that those Bitcoin owned by such individuals are no longer in circulation/use, hence reducing the Bitcoin trading volume?

Can't the nodes recover them or are they automatically erased from the blockchain since they might not be probably in use?

I believe this question and every of the answers that will be provided by members here will help a lot of newbies including myself to know the importance of private keys/recovery phrase.

Bitcoin holders who have lost or forgotten their wallet seeds, or who have lost them forever, or who have died without telling anyone about their wallets. In this case, it is impossible to recover as many Bitcoin wallets as possible, so it is easy to understand that these Bitcoins will be lost forever and the lost Bitcoins will be minus from the total supply.
The total supply of Bitcoin is 21 million and assuming that three to four million Bitcoins have been lost, the circulating supply of Bitcoin will be 16-17 million. This means that lost Bitcoins can never be recovered, or only Satoshi can say whether it can be recovered.

[Plutomanian]

Lost Bitcoin as satsoshi Said is a bonuse to every other Bitcoin holder's since those Bitcoin are considered dead and inactive although available on the blockchain but no longer in active cyculating volumes, means more scarcity for the market increase demands and generally increasing the value of those available cyculating Bitcoins.

It's very sad to see most investors ceasing to exist on planet earth. What do you think happen to their portfolio? They're definitely not going to bring up any other sources because the bitcoin is permanently stored in their wallet and If it happens that none of their close relatives or colleagues doesn't have access to this project, it ends.

I'm definitely going to tell you about how hard it becomes when someone died and his bitcoin private phrase is nowhere to be found. Bitcoin can never be scarce in the market, do you know the vast number of inactive wallets that already stored bitcoin? Not only talking about those investors that have ceased to exist but also those that have lost their private key.

[Felicity_Tide]

~snip

That's the reason how important for people to tell this information to their trusted family member so that they can make sure that their funds will be used by their family if there's unfortunate incident happen to them.

It is very important that we do this at some point, but a lot of people literally don't have any plans for this because of different reasons. There are those who probably have trust issues, and those who just don't want to take the chance despite knowing that they' have good people around them.

The truth is, whether we like it or not, there are those whose holdings are going to go with them. Death most times can be unpredictable, and that's while those who ends up sharing their info with close relatives are likely to leave their holdings in the hands of others.

[Stalker22]

~
Bitcoin can never be scarce in the market, do you know the vast number of inactive wallets that already stored bitcoin? Not only talking about those investors that have ceased to exist but also those that have lost their private key.

The idea that Bitcoin isnt scarce just shows a misunderstanding of what scarcity really means.  Every wallet thats lost or inactive actually makes the available supply smaller.  Thats part of the reason why Bitcoin is so valuable.  Each time someone loses their keys, or a "boomer" kicks the bucket without telling his kids where the metal plate is buried, the remaining Bitcoin becomes even harder to get.

[Silikiem]

Lost Bitcoin as satsoshi Said is a bonuse to every other Bitcoin holder's since those Bitcoin are considered dead and inactive although available on the blockchain but no longer in active cyculating volumes, means more scarcity for the market increase demands and generally increasing the value of those available cyculating Bitcoins.

It's very sad to see most investors ceasing to exist on planet earth. What do you think happen to their portfolio? They're definitely not going to bring up any other sources because the bitcoin is permanently stored in their wallet and If it happens that none of their close relatives or colleagues doesn't have access to this project, it ends.

I'm definitely going to tell you about how hard it becomes when someone died and his bitcoin private phrase is nowhere to be found. Bitcoin can never be scarce in the market, do you know the vast number of inactive wallets that already stored bitcoin? Not only talking about those investors that have ceased to exist but also those that have lost their private key.

This is the more reason why bitcoin is decentralized asset that’s not controlled by anyone , even the owner of the bitcoin his powers have a limit which is just either his password or key phrase, anything other that this is beyond your reach. It’s not like a bank where even if a customer lost his life, his family members or relatives can still be able to access his funds because someone is in control of it systematically and other wise. Your bitcoin private seed phrase is your power.

[Odusko]

It's very sad to see most investors ceasing to exist on planet earth. What do you think happen to their portfolio? They're definitely not going to bring up any other sources because the bitcoin is permanently stored in their wallet and If it happens that none of their close relatives or colleagues doesn't have access to this project, it ends.

I'm definitely going to tell you about how hard it becomes when someone died and his bitcoin private phrase is nowhere to be found. Bitcoin can never be scarce in the market, do you know the vast number of inactive wallets that already stored bitcoin? Not only talking about those investors that have ceased to exist but also those that have lost their private key.

Understandable that alot of Bitcoin are lost already and any Bitcoin that becomes unaccessible and lost should already be considered as a donation to the rest of of the usable Bitcoin in cyculation, because at that instance, nothing can ever make them usable again us gone forever, both those wallets that the owner gave passed away and the owns that the private keys are lost are all in the same categories of the unofficial donations they the network non recoverable is the security capacity of Bitcoin which should be guided properly to avoid losing your access to your Bitcoin in the first place.

[Antona]

It's very sad to see most investors ceasing to exist on planet earth. What do you think happen to their portfolio? They're definitely not going to bring up any other sources because the bitcoin is permanently stored in their wallet and If it happens that none of their close relatives or colleagues doesn't have access to this project, it ends.

I'm definitely going to tell you about how hard it becomes when someone died and his bitcoin private phrase is nowhere to be found. Bitcoin can never be scarce in the market, do you know the vast number of inactive wallets that already stored bitcoin? Not only talking about those investors that have ceased to exist but also those that have lost their private key.

Understandable that alot of Bitcoin are lost already and any Bitcoin that becomes unaccessible and lost should already be considered as a donation to the rest of of the usable Bitcoin in cyculation, because at that instance, nothing can ever make them usable again us gone forever, both those wallets that the owner gave passed away and the owns that the private keys are lost are all in the same categories of the unofficial donations they the network non recoverable is the security capacity of Bitcoin which should be guided properly to avoid losing your access to your Bitcoin in the first place.

Good point about them being in the same category the blockchain doesn't care why a key is lost the coins are just inert this "unofficial donation" idea is real it's a forced hodl from which no one can sell it makes the active supply more valuable, but at a high personal cost

[hyudien]

Bitcoin holders who have lost or forgotten their wallet seeds, or who have lost them forever, or who have died without telling anyone about their wallets. In this case, it is impossible to recover as many Bitcoin wallets as possible, so it is easy to understand that these Bitcoins will be lost forever and the lost Bitcoins will be minus from the total supply.
The total supply of Bitcoin is 21 million and assuming that three to four million Bitcoins have been lost, the circulating supply of Bitcoin will be 16-17 million. This means that lost Bitcoins can never be recovered, or only Satoshi can say whether it can be recovered.

I am convinced that even Satoshi could not recover lost Bitcoins. Bitcoin was originally designed without a central authority, such as a bank, and the fact that Satoshi holdings remain untouched to this day reinforces the idea that there is no privileged access. The saying “Not your keys, not your coins” truly reflects this reality.

That is why Bitcoin is a valuable asset, it places full responsibility in our own hands. If we make even a single mistake and lose access to our wallet, those Bitcoins are no longer ours.

[Rgram]

That's the reason how important for people to tell this information to their trusted family member so that they can make sure that their funds will be used by their family if there's unfortunate incident happen to them.

Some people do say when it’s come to financial aspects, you can’t trust anyone. I agree with that, someone which you trust might be the one which will end up stealing from you, so no matter how close you are with a person, when it comes to financial aspect, you have to be careful, but even with that you have to store your seed phrase in a place where your family members will be able to see if anything happens to you.

Betrayal they say doesn’t come from an enemy, it always comes from those within your circle of trust and when it’s about money or something of real value, you can be rest assured you would be having the worst of people that just can’t control themselves.

Bitcoin happens to be a currency that, once you’ve got knowledge of the private key, you are as good as the owner and with that, security is priority number one, you can’t have anyone come by this knowledge and in the event of your untimely demise, you could easily loose it all, loose it to burnt Bitcoins.

Those burnt coins remain in existence, just never accessible should the private key or seed phrases never be found but, its effect would always be seen on the price.

[X-ray]

In short the bitcoin more likely to be lost forever but the good thing is the scarcity of the bitcoin you owned just goes up.

The thing is there is no way to identify which bitcoin is owned by owner who have passed away so we don't really know how much bitcoin actually lost out there.

With that in mend, just consider that the max supply is actually less than 21 million due to the lost bitcoin considered lost.

[Smack That Ace]

Bitcoin holders who have lost or forgotten their wallet seeds, or who have lost them forever, or who have died without telling anyone about their wallets. In this case, it is impossible to recover as many Bitcoin wallets as possible, so it is easy to understand that these Bitcoins will be lost forever and the lost Bitcoins will be minus from the total supply.
The total supply of Bitcoin is 21 million and assuming that three to four million Bitcoins have been lost, the circulating supply of Bitcoin will be 16-17 million. This means that lost Bitcoins can never be recovered, or only Satoshi can say whether it can be recovered.

The idea that Satoshi can recover lost bitcoins is incorrect. Bitcoin is open source and operates based on network consensus, it is not dependent on any single individual, including its creator.

Although he created Bitcoin, he is just like everyone else, he does not have the privilege to restore or change Bitcoin at will. If he wants to change the Bitcoin network, he also needs to get consensus from the community, otherwise, he can't do anything else.

As you can see, Bitcoin has been able to survive and thrive for the past 16 years without the support of Satoshi. Therefore, he would not have any privileges. If he did, Bitcoin would not be considered decentralized.