Bitcoin, with almost 17 years of history, was once worth little, even less than $1. During the period of low value, massive buying took place, and some early buyers lost access to their Bitcoin holdings or were ignored.
As such, an estimated 2.3 million Bitcoins are lost, which amounts to approximately 11% to 19% of the total supply. Bitbo data. These coins are inaccessible especially when private keys, hard drives and other storage media are forgotten or lost.
Despite the large amount of lost supply, some are eventually recovered, and some supposedly lost BTC is finally waking up. In fact, according to figures, more than 6.5,000 pre-2012 BTC have re-entered the market. Checkonchain facts.
The latest revived offer dates back to 2011-2012 and is linked to an Irish drug dealer, Cliffon Clinton.
Clifton Clinton’s lost key is brought back to life
On-chain monitors reported that a wallet linked to Dublin drug dealer Clifton Collins moved 500 BTC worth $35 million to Coinbase Prime.
The deposit is the first of its twelve dormant assets to be moved since 2016. Collins bought 6,000 BTC cheaply with drug money in 2012, but lost access when handwritten keys were lost during the 2017 arrest.
Ireland’s Criminal Assets Bureau seized the funds in 2019, but they remain inaccessible. Finally, Gardai, with the help of Europol, used sophisticated tools to gain access.
Despite the recent access, authorities still cannot access the entire holding, leaving 5,500 BTC still frozen. However, the latest recovery offers hope for a possible recovery of $423 million worth of BTC that is still frozen.
Bitcoin currency flows continue to decline
Despite Collin’s deposits into exchanges, foreign exchange inflows have continued to decline. According to CryptoQuant analyst Darkfost, BTC outflows from exchanges have largely dominated the past month.
As a result, Exchange Netflow has remained negative throughout this period, indicating significant demand with sellers displaced or demotivated.
So, investors have continued to accumulate BTC. In fact, Bitcoin’s Exchange Supply Ratio has also fallen consistently over the past month, reaching 0.133, confirming the market accumulation phase.
Despite the rising demand, the analyst stated that it is still insufficient to restart a trend. However, prevailing market conditions indicate a stabilizing market and a potential driver of improved Bitcoin [BTC] price promotion.
In fact, BTC has held strongly above its 20-day moving average, around $70,000, and was hovering around $71,000 at the time of writing. Furthermore, Bitcoin’s Relative Strength Index (RSI) remained above 50, at 51, indicating the presence of buyers, although sellers also remain heavily involved.
With the price stabilizing above the EMA20, BTC tested the EMA50 at $72,144 at the time of writing. A successful retest will provide amplified upside momentum, paving the way for a breakout towards $77,973.
However, seller threats remain relatively strong, especially when looking at the RSI. If buyers ease up, selling pressure could push BTC below the $70,000 support level to $67,000.
Final summary
- It is estimated that approximately 2.3 million BTC (11-19% of the supply) is lost due to inaccessible keys and storage errors.
- Some “lost” coins are resurfacing, with more than 6,500 pre-2012 BTC recently reactivated.