In new findings by two research firms – Chainalysis and Diar – data has been made available on the reality of the amount of Bitcoin (BTC) actually available in circulation for the regular guy like you and I. According to coinmarketcap.com, the circulating supply of BTC stands at 17,296,587 at the moment of writing this. The findings go on to state that 36% of this amount is ‘lost, likely lost, or unmined’. Doing the math, this then means 6.226 Million BTC is technically unavailable for purchase or trading to even the Bitcoin whales.

The report goes on to state that 22% of the circulating supply is held by speculators, while investors hold a 30% stake in the circulation supply. These values amount to 3.8 Million and 5.189 Million Bitcoin in circulation respectively.

Bitcoin Can Be Declared More Scarce than Many Would Have Thought

Using the above figures, and knowing the hard-cap on the mining of Bitcoin is set at 21 Million, we can declare with some confidence that Bitcoin is technically scarce. This is given the fact that 6.226 Million BTC is technically unavailable. There is also the 3.704 Million BTC that is yet to be mined. We are therefore left with a very small percentage of the digital asset to satisfy the interest of global investors.

Charlie Lee Might Just Be Right

In a tweet back in mid July the founder of Litecoin, Charlie Lee, had urged crypto traders and enthusiasts to first strive at owning 1 BTC before owning any other coin in the crypto verse. His exact words and tweet can be seen below.

There will be at most 21 million bitcoins in existence. There isn’t even enough BTC to go around for EVERY millionaire to own one. So before you buy any other coin (LTC included), try to own at least 1 BTC first. Once you have 1 BTC, buy all the shitcoins you want!

There will be at most 21 million bitcoins in existence. There isn't even enough BTC to go around for EVERY millionaire to own one. So before you buy any other coin (LTC included), try to own at least 1 BTC first. 🥅 Once you have 1 BTC, buy all the shitcoins you want! 😂 pic.twitter.com/bc3xKKGB0m — Charlie Lee [LTC⚡] (@SatoshiLite) July 17, 2018

Bitcoin’s Future

The fact of the matter is that Bitcoin has attracted the interest of institutional investors from Wall Street such as Bakkt and CBOE who have a pending Bitcoin ETF application at the SEC. This in turn means that looking at the performance of BTC in the last few days, Billionaire investor Michael Novogratz might also have been right when he confidently state that Bitcoin had reached a bottom on the 12th of September and at $6,200.

What do you think about the new report that 36% of the BTC in circulation is lost? Do you think that this then makes the case of Bitcoin being scarce? Please let us know in the comment section below.

Disclaimer: This article is not meant to give financial advice. Any opinion herein is purely the author’s and does not represent the opinion of Ethereum World News or any of its other writers. Please carry out your own research before investing in any of the numerous cryptocurrencies available. Thank you.