What will happen to 'lost' coins?

[Ilaybit]

They are maybe lost, but fewer Bitcoins in circulation could give a better value because it is a very wanted goods.
At first, many people didn't care about Bitcoin when the price was small. I guess from that comes such a high number of lost Bitcoins.
I bet that we gonna hear in the future about lucky guys that found their private keys of long forgotten wallet.

[Drendert]

Very, it is a pity that their not return. If I could return all the lost wallets since 2013( all in the world lost 3mln coins, considering that all bitcoins in the system can be 21 million, it turns out that about seven of the coins are lost forever.

[nahnah]

I do not know for sure but in my opinion the lost coin will remain in blockchain and still be a part of it,
because all have been added in the beginning can not be added and can not be reduced,

[Mr.Noda]

I read that the development of a coin return algorithm sent to incorrect (non-existent) wallets is under way!

[krassy]

I think that it is necessary all the same to exaggerate the possibility of restoring access to lost wallets and passwords, or to burn information that is inactive for more than a year. Also, users should have more attention to their data, so that later do not regret the loss.

[Daria_daria1992]

Yes, it will be lost coins, like treasures that no one will find.  I know personally such examples, when people can not restore their wallets, because they lost passwords.  And they kept a lot of money on these wallets.  Therefore, you need to carefully treat the storage of passwords for wallets.

[droptableguy2]

In my opinion, those coins will be lost forever, no one can find them and no one will get them. It's a pity because of our carelessness, so keep your keys private.

[Omnopon)]

I think that this issue is settled. It seems to me that these coins will eventually burn, because they are out of circulation.

[GoodHounter]

I think that the lost coins will be inaccessible to anyone for many decades

[anthinguy21]

If anyone forget their wallet privatekey with full of token and cryptocurrency inside, they'll lose them forever and there are no way these cryptocurrency can be transferred to anyone wallet. But I think it's really hard to lose privatekey cause people often keep their privatekey very carefully but sometime, they still can lose it because of some reasons like hacked or losing their computer

[shinharu10282016]

Speaking specifically about Bitcoin, I found this article (linked below) claiming that nearly 4 million bitcoins are already very likely to have been lost:

According to new research from Chainalysis, a digital forensics firm that studies the bitcoin blockchain, 3.79 million bitcoins are already gone for good based on a high estimate—and 2.78 million based on a low one. Those numbers imply 17% to 23% of existing bitcoins, which are today worth around $8,500 each, are lost.

Source: http://fortune.com/2017/11/25/lost-bitcoins/

I don't know how much of this makes sense, to me the number is simply too high. But, who knows. Another point being made in the linked article is that people are going to be much more careful when sending bitcoins in the future, now that the value of this crypto-currency has been firmly established.  

actually the numbers are somewhat near to what can be called lost. Some miners are insane if I may say.

Really. I have read a news back in 2017 where a miner made a mistake or something during the mining of a certain block. They've lost like a hundred thousand bitcoins in a block, iirc.

Correct me i am wrong though. I cannot remember it really. Just the news about some lost bitcoins.

[skorupi17]

I meet loads of people who have collected coins everywhere. They have 20 different types of wallets with a little bit of value. It's due to happen that people will loose their private keys or forget that they even have an account. Over time that value could accumulate pretty big. What will happen to these 'lost' coins? Will these stay on the Blockchain forever, accessible to no one anymore?

A coin or token stays where it is unless someone or something transfers it to another location or wallet. So in this case, if a user forgets or lost his private key, then the coins or tokens inside that wallet will stay in it forever. This is the effect of decentralization (not saying its is a negative effect not a positive one). Having those coins or tokens be lost then we could consider them as burnt. Thus, contributing to the scarcity of that specific coin or token and, a possible, increase in its market value.

[cliber]

to my knowledge guys, when the private key is lost, then the wallet address can not be opened again. although very many tokens are owned. automatically, it looks like the coins contained in the wallet's address can not be opened by anyone. if my opinion is wrong, please be advised, still very less experience. my advice, keep a good private key.

[clang07]

Yes it is gone forever. It will stay on blockchain forever but no one can access it unless they will have their private key again or someone will have their private key. We hope in the future this problem will have solution.

[loaddebitcard]

Yes it is gone forever. It will stay on blockchain forever but no one can access it unless they will have their private key again or someone will have their private key. We hope in the future this problem will have solution.

Its already a solution like "lost key contract" and stuff like that (google for it) but people doesn't care and continue loosing their funds

[kruzer200]

This is a rather interesting question, which I also asked myself. I think that the coin will not be available..

[dimon01]

I never asked this question, but it seems to me that coins that are not used in any way - eventually burn. Although I can not imagine how this happens.

[Kelaychi]

In the world of cryptocurrency.. Once lost, its lost forever!! that's why its annonymous...
My thought goes to those who have Bitcoin wallets with sh!t loads of BTC in them before they die and their family doesn't know sh!t about it!

[honghe99]

Using only a private key to control your wallet is a common feature of all cryptocurrencies. At the same time, this is a nightmare for those who are forgetful.

[Aivengo111]

These coins do not disappear anywhere. They can not be used if the wallet owner can not remember the password.