shard_2013Full Member
Posts: 207 · Reputation: 287
#1Dec 29, 2021, 05:10 AM
So this whole idea of lost bitcoin feels kinda sketchy. Just because an address is inactive doesn’t mean the coins are gone forever.
Are Lost Bitcoins Really Lost?
22 replies 206 views
Check this out. Irish police seized 6000 BTC from some dude growing weed. They thought all the keys were lost, but now one wallet woke up and 500 BTC just moved to Coinbase. Crazy right?
Why would someone move 500 BTC to Coinbase knowing it’s being watched? Sounds like a bad move.
Right? If they don’t have the keys, how can they really claim they seized those coins? It’s not in their control if they can’t access the wallets.
Exactly. We’ll never really know how many bitcoins are lost for sure. Owners might think they’re lost but could easily find backups or passwords later.
I read that around 3.7 million BTC are probably gone forever... but it’s all just speculation.
LuckyDeg3nFull Member
Posts: 76 · Reputation: 408
#7Dec 30, 2021, 05:13 AM
For real, lost bitcoins are basically like donations to the rest of us. If someone finds their keys, they’re back in business.
Good point. Many so-called lost bitcoins are just sitting there, waiting for someone to find a seed phrase. Estimates are just that, estimates.
Yeah, it’s kinda like in Bitcoin, silence doesn’t mean it’s dead. Those coins could come back anytime.
stake_2017Newbie
Posts: 61 · Reputation: 12
#10Dec 31, 2021, 04:28 AM
I’m curious what’s gonna happen to that guy now. He could end up doing more time since that BTC moved to a KYC exchange.
chain_2011Newbie
Posts: 22 · Reputation: 28
#11Dec 31, 2021, 07:34 AM
Right? Seems risky for him to use Coinbase after all that. He could get rekt again.
CalmFalconMember
Posts: 80 · Reputation: 176
#12Dec 31, 2021, 07:33 PM
Honestly, we can’t assume those inactive wallets are dead. They might just belong to folks who know how to hold.
falcon_alphaMember
Posts: 57 · Reputation: 182
#13Dec 31, 2021, 08:46 PM
Lost bitcoin, to me, is when you can’t spend them anymore, like coins sent to burn addresses. The rest could be accessed one day.
diamond_minerFull Member
Posts: 47 · Reputation: 623
#14Jan 1, 2022, 04:58 PM
Exactly! Only real lost coins are those sent to burn addresses. Everything else might still be spendable.
True, but I wonder if anyone ever got in trouble for moving coins they thought they lost. Like, is that even a crime?
f0rk_5tackNewbie
Posts: 32 · Reputation: 3
#16Jan 2, 2022, 01:20 AM
If the wallets haven’t moved in years, how can we say they’re lost? The owners might still have access, just not using them.
With tech advancing, authorities can figure out if coins are truly lost. They can track better now.
Yeah, it’s not smart for criminals to send BTC to public exchanges. They usually launder it first.
I feel like they might’ve sent those coins to Coinbase just to test if they were accessible. Too risky though.
Yeah, I don’t buy that some random person just moved those coins. It seems fishy.