Only you can prevent lost bitcoins
We often consider bitcoin and other like crypto-currencies to have a truly deflationary nature. Only so many will ever be produced in some amount of time. This too is how some choose to value such currencies, but therein lies a second deflationary mechanism that is often not appreciated for its inherent existence, and that is death.
We could only be so lucky to have so many bitcoins that the notion of them not being passed via a will or some other means would pose concern, but in reality, even a single bitcoin lost to a lazy bitcoiner effects the total coins available in exchange. This means then that as time elapses and people are neglectful to establish an assured way of passing bitcoins after death, a continued loss of coins will be ensured. Could this be a generational problem or a road to $100,000 BTC?
Wow, this is really interesting, I thought about this too! Upvoted.
This is an interesting question.
What about the bitcoin in wallets where the private key has been lost by its owner ?
Seeing as this was my first post, I kept it short and sweet. But yah, a few thousand BTC in the dumpster definitely is part of it.
It's great to raise awareness of this. Cryptocurrency probate rules really need considering for any reasonable sum you would like to pass on.