Ethereum

Ethereum’s lost supply reaches a staggering 913,111 ETH

24 hours ago
Bitcoin Ethereum News

Ethereum’s lost supply has reached a staggering 913,111 ETH, according to Coinbase’s Conor Grogan. The amount, now worth about 0.76% of the circulating supply of Ethereum, was attributed to bugs, incorrect contracts, and mistakes in user activity. The losses exceed $3.43 billion at rates held in its current market of around $3,822.

As noted by Grogan, this estimate only counts permanently unused ETH, e.g., tokens caught in contracts or burned addresses. It does not include the lost ETH due to forgotten private keys and inactive Genesis wallets, so the actual value may be much larger.

With the destruction of 5.3 million ETH through the Ethereum EIP-1559 system, the total Ethereum removed from circulation effectively surpasses 6 million tokens. This constitutes approximately 4-5% of the 120.7 million total supply.

The largest loss events remain consistent with Grogan’s 2023 analysis. These include 306,000 ETH lost to the Parity Multisig bug, 60,000 ETH trapped in a QuadrigaCX contract, and 11,500 ETH lost in the Akutars NFT mint failure.

There have been minimal changes since last year, and 1,000 more ETH have been sent to burn addresses. Total losses of ETH caused by these mistakes have increased by 44 percent since March 2023, when the figure was 636,000 ETH.

“To be clear, this $3.4 billion number significantly undershoots the actual lost/inaccessible ETH amount — it just covers instances where Ethereum is locked forever.”

– Conor Grogan

Ethereum supply dynamics support bullish thesis

The tokenomics of Ethereum have grown more deflationary. Following the Merge in September 2022, the issuance of ETH was significantly reduced as the network technology changed to proof-of-stake. In 2021, EIP-1559 decreased its available supply by burning a small percentage of transaction fees.

Prior to the Merge, Ethereum had a total amount of 120.5 million ETH. It has slowly dropped since then, but has since picked up gradual growth in 2024 at 120.7 million. Although Ethereum has no maximum limit, like Bitcoin, its slower issuance has kept inflation at bay. Market participants view this supply tendency as one of the reasons for long-term price increases.

According to Lookonchain, Ethereum whales have purchased more than $2.7 billion worth of ETH within a week. According to analysts, the measure is an indication of growing market control and regulatory transparency.

ETH gains momentum

Ethereum’s price has surged 57.6% over the past month, climbing to a local high of $3,834. It now trades just above $3,800, with analysts expecting a clean breakout past $4,000 if current momentum holds.

Whale accumulation, growing institutional interest, and positive regulatory signals are fueling Ethereum’s strong recovery. The GENIUS Act, signed into law on July 18, has introduced a regulatory framework for stablecoins, which benefits ETH, Solana, and other L1 networks.

Ethereum’s market share has climbed from 9.7% to 11.6%, while Bitcoin’s dominance dropped from 64% to 60%. QCP Capital pointed to this shift as a sign that altcoins are outperforming and that ETH is leading the charge.

ETH perpetual open interest has jumped from $18 billion to over $28 billion in one week. QCP also highlighted that ETH spot ETF inflows have outpaced Bitcoin for two consecutive days, marking a rare shift in institutional behavior.

Analysts expect Ethereum’s price to break out of its macro range between $2,200 and $3,900. According to Rekt Capital, ETH has rebounded 120% from a key historical demand zone and is preparing to test the upper boundary of that range. A successful breakout could open the door to new highs.

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Source: https://www.cryptopolitan.com/over-3-4b-in-eth-lost-forever/