Crypto Billionaire Changpeng Zhao Estimates 2-4 Million Bitcoin Gone Forever, Calls BTC a 'Deflationary Asset'

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Binance founder Changpeng "CZ" Zhao estimated on Saturday that 10–20% of all Bitcoin that have already been mined are effectively gone forever.

Permanetly Lost BTC?

CZ noted in an X post that 20.07 million BTC have already been mined, with only 4.4% of the remaining supply remaining to enter circulation.

"I'd estimate 10-20% of existing Bitcoins are lost/stuck/unrecoverable," he added, which translates to roughly 2–4 million BTC.

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Given that Bitcoin's total supply is capped and the usable supply continues to decrease as coins are permanently lost, CZ deemed Bitcoin a "deflationary asset."

Bitcoin surpassed 20.07 million coins mined as of August 2026, leaving only 4.4% more supply.

I'd estimate 10-20% of existing bitcoins are lost/stuck/unrecoverable. It's a deflationary asset.

— CZ 🔶 BNB (@cz_binance) August 15, 2026

Satoshi's BTC Also Inaccessible?

CZ's figures were largely in line with other analysts. BitGo estimates 2.3–4 million BTC, or about 11–18% of the 21 million supply cap.

This includes Satoshi Nakamoto's estimated 1.1 million untouched early BTC, which are technically dormant rather than confirmed lost.