Lost Ether Supply Tops 6.2M ETH Removed from Circulation
Lost Ether supply has reached 913,111 ETH (0.76% of circulating supply), worth over $3.43 billion, according to Coinbase’s Conor Grogan. When combined with the 5.3 million ETH burned under EIP-1559 since 2021, traders face a total of about 6.2 million ETH—roughly 5% of the 120.7 million ETH supply—permanently removed from circulation. Lost Ether supply surged 44% from March 2023’s 636,000 ETH, highlighting growing deflationary pressure.
Major loss events include the Parity multisig bug (306,000 ETH), QuadrigaCX contract failure (60,000 ETH) and Akutars NFT minting error (11,500 ETH). Upgrades like EIP-1559 and The Merge have cut new issuance by burning transaction fees and shifting Ethereum to Proof-of-Stake.
Nearly half of staked validators support raising the gas limit to 45 million, boosting scalability and lowering fees. This proposal, alongside $2.7 billion in whale buys, rising ETF inflows and growing market dominance, has propelled ETH above $3,800. With sustained net issuance reductions through lost Ether supply and ETH burn, bulls are eyeing a $4,000 breakout.
Bullish
Permanent reductions in net issuance from both lost Ether supply and EIP-1559 burns tighten Ethereum’s tokenomics. Major historical losses and protocol upgrades underscore growing deflationary pressure. Combined with $2.7 billion in whale buys, rising ETF inflows and validator-backed gas limit increases, ETH’s price momentum has surged past $3,800. In the short term, this supply squeeze can fuel immediate bullish sentiment and potential breakouts. Over the long term, sustained burn policies and protocol enhancements support a structurally tighter supply, reinforcing a bullish outlook for ETH.