So if I understand…there is a finite amount of bitcoin that can be created, or mined, thought not all has been yet. When someone mines that bitcoin they own it, but can sell it or use it similar to currency to purchase goods and services. That bitcoin is now “in circulation”. All of that bitcoin that is unrecoverable is gone forever…it cannot be mined again, and it cannot be bought/sold/traded, so it is out of circulation. It’s like lighting a $100 bill on fire. Is that about right?
The total amount of mineable bitcoin is 21 million; there have been about 18.5 million mined to date. They will continue to be mined until some point in the next century. When you’re a miner, yes, you earn bitcoin for the work you do (if you do the work - being plugged in and running electricity does not guarantee that you’re going to make any money…) and those miners are free to do whatever they want with their earnings.
The bitcoin that’s unrecoverable exists in a digital sense, but if it can’t be accessed it can’t be used. It’s like lighting a $100 bill on fire Ziggy Sobotka style, but the difference is that $100 can be replaced by the US Treasury, and the bitcoin that is for whatever reason inaccessible cannot be reproduced.
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Was trying to remember this story. Thought it was a podcast originally, but it’s in Wired. The vault comment reminded me of this guys original plan of etching his password recover on a block of metal. Things go wrong first…
Not a very tech savvy tech journalist. Either that or the original money wasn’t really that much to him. Why would you not immediately type the information into a file, encrypt it and password protect it? Ad keep a safety copy on a USB drive? Writing it down on paper, and putting that paper under a teen or young person’s pillow? This guy must have velcro instead of shoelaces, he’s not terribly bright.
My thoughts exactly. This guy was too stupid to have money.
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Yes. There is quite some distance between his plan and his reality. I wish I could say I’ve never fallen for overthinking the long-term plan at the expense of immediate inaction/risk. But, the only copy under a pillow and subsequently forgotten for awhile? That’s not a great look.
I can absolutely relate to that feeling of recalling something with no effort then suddenly drawing a blank when it’s unexpectedly called upon directly.
LUNA was the fourth most popular crypto currency in the world on Monday, to being delisted on Thursday after if fell eleventy-million percent to be worth $0.0058.
Here’s a twitter thread of upset LUNA owners demanding that they turn the machines back on:
They wanted a libertarian paradise. Well, there it sits!
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That didn’t work for Randolph and Mortimer Duke, I don’t think it will work now.
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I should be able to buy luna for cheap now. I somewhat regret passing purchasing on 10,000 bitcoin for $50 a few years ago.
Went down the rabbit hole on Twitter and found this:
I’d post the “Skeletor laughing for 10 hours” video but Hudson would probably ban me for it.
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You could probably get away with “Tyrion Lannister slaps Joffrey on a loop while Achilles Last Stand plays”.
I was leaning Green Shirt Guy or You Played Yourself