Recent data reveals that over 6.2 million Ethereum (ETH), valued at $23.4 billion, has been permanently removed from circulation through irreversible losses and protocol-level burns. This amounts to 5% of Ethereum’s total supply, significantly impacting the cryptocurrency’s economic landscape.
Approximately 913,111 ETH ($3.43 billion accounting for 0.76% of circulating supply) stems from irrecoverable losses due to user errors and code vulnerabilities. These include funds locked in inaccessible contracts or misdirected transfers with no recovery mechanism.
Additionally, Ethereum’s EIP-1559 upgrade introduced in 2021 has resulted in the permanent burn of 5.3 million ETH through transaction fee mechanisms. This protocol-level deflationary process combines with accidental losses to create the 6.2 million ETH supply reduction.
Notably, the $3.4 billion permanent-loss figure specifically excludes ETH potentially recoverable through private key discovery, focusing solely on verifiably inaccessible assets. This distinction underscores the technological and human factors contributing to Ethereum’s supply constraints.