<p>This question is based on a false assumption: Lost bitcoins are <strong>not</strong> returned into circulation.</p>

<p>The problem is that one cannot distinguish lost bitcoins from saved/stored bitcoins, as it is impossible to prove that nobody has the private key to a given address.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-10-12T10:34:32.807Z
You cannot distinguish between valid and invalid addresses either. If you're referring to addresses with an invalid checksum, you can't send to those in the first place.
Pieter Wuille
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-10-12T12:23:53.343Z
Oh thanks, I wasn't aware that you couldn't circumvent that with raw transactions. I'll correct that in my answer.
Murch
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-10-12T16:36:44.307Z
Addresses are really shorthands for standard transaction output scripts. With raw transactions you can certainly create invalid outputs (provably lost coins), but those are special scripts, which do not have a corresponding address.
Pieter Wuille
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-10-12T18:58:01.210Z
Right, I thought I had read about that. I didn't realize that your interjection was about the distinction between address as valid recipient and invalid output destinations.
Murch
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-10-11T12:15:56.430Z
2013-10-12T12:25:51.680Z
2013-10-12T12:25:51.680Z
Murch
<p>Eventually once  all of the bitcoins have been mined the design calls for <a href="https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/FAQ#Won.27t_loss_of_wallets_and_the_finite_amount_of_Bitcoins_create_excessive_deflation.2C_destroying_Bitcoin.3F" rel="nofollow noreferrer">a permanently-finite system and eventual deflation</a></p>
<blockquote>
<p>Also, Bitcoin users are faced with a danger that doesn't threaten users of any other currency: if a Bitcoin user loses his wallet, his money is gone forever, unless he finds it again. And not just to him; it's gone completely out of circulation, rendered utterly inaccessible to anyone. As people will lose their wallets, the total number of Bitcoins will slowly decrease...</p>
<p>...That being said, there is a mechanism in place to combat the obvious consequences. Extreme deflation would render most currencies highly impractical: if a single Canadian dollar could suddenly buy the holder a car, how would one go about buying bread or candy? Even pennies would fetch more than a person could carry. Bitcoin, however, offers a simple and stylish solution: infinite divisibility. Bitcoins can be divided up and trade into as small of pieces as one wants, so no matter how valuable Bitcoins become, one can trade them in practical quantities.</p>
</blockquote>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-10-12T01:03:20.280Z
2013-10-12T01:03:20.280Z
2020-06-16T11:10:03.350Z
Neil Neyman
<p>How long does it take to gives again into circulation after loss Bitcoins ?</p>

<hr>

<hr>

<shrinking-money-supply>
How long does it take to gives again into circulation after loss Bitcoins
Tomáš Murňák
# How long does it take to gives again into circulation after loss Bitcoins

(Asked by: username_0 on 2013-10-11)

How long does it take to gives again into circulation after loss Bitcoins ?

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**Tags:** shrinking-money-supply


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## 2 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2013-10-11. Score: 2

This question is based on a false assumption: Lost bitcoins are **not** returned into circulation.

The problem is that one cannot distinguish lost bitcoins from saved/stored bitcoins, as it is impossible to prove that nobody has the private key to a given address.

> **Comments:**
> **username_2**: You cannot distinguish between valid and invalid addresses either. If you're referring to addresses with an invalid checksum, you can't send to those in the first place.  
> **username_1**: Oh thanks, I wasn't aware that you couldn't circumvent that with raw transactions. I'll correct that in my answer.  
> **username_2**: Addresses are really shorthands for standard transaction output scripts. With raw transactions you can certainly create invalid outputs (provably lost coins), but those are special scripts, which do not have a corresponding address.  
> **username_1**: Right, I thought I had read about that. I didn't realize that your interjection was about the distinction between address as valid recipient and invalid output destinations.  

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### Answer by username_3 on 2013-10-12. Score: 0

Eventually once all of the bitcoins have been mined the design calls for [a permanently-finite system and eventual deflation](https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/FAQ#Won.27t_loss_of_wallets_and_the_finite_amount_of_Bitcoins_create_excessive_deflation.2C_destroying_Bitcoin.3F)

> Also, Bitcoin users are faced with a danger that doesn't threaten users of any other currency: if a Bitcoin user loses his wallet, his money is gone forever, unless he finds it again. And not just to him; it's gone completely out of circulation, rendered utterly inaccessible to anyone. As people will lose their wallets, the total number of Bitcoins will slowly decrease...
>
> ...That being said, there is a mechanism in place to combat the obvious consequences. Extreme deflation would render most currencies highly impractical: if a single Canadian dollar could suddenly buy the holder a car, how would one go about buying bread or candy? Even pennies would fetch more than a person could carry. Bitcoin, however, offers a simple and stylish solution: infinite divisibility. Bitcoins can be divided up and trade into as small of pieces as one wants, so no matter how valuable Bitcoins become, one can trade them in practical quantities.


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