Satoshi's Lost-Coin Quote Hits 16-Year Mark Amid $10 Billion in Estimated Missing Bitcoin

Sixteen years have passed since Satoshi made a now-famous statement about lost coins in a Bitcointalk thread called 'Dying bitcoins'.

The discussion began on June 21, 2010, when a user asked if forgotten wallets would cause the network to shrink over time. After replies from Laszlo Hanyecz and Gavin Andresen, Satoshi answered at 17:48:26 UTC with a quote that still circulates today:

"Lost coins only make everyone else's coins worth slightly more. Think of it as a donation to everyone."

This quote is not a prediction that bitcoin's price would rise, but rather an observation that scarcity intensifies as coins disappear from circulation.