Key Highlights:
• Over 912,000 ETH, worth $3.4 billion, has been permanently lost due to user errors and contract flaws.
• BlackRock’s ETHA ETF led record inflows, pushing total U.S. Ethereum ETF inflows to $5.5 billion.
Yello Paradisers! Despite surging institutional demand and record ETF inflows, Ethereum faces a persistent supply issue: a growing amount of ETH is effectively gone forever.
According to a new dataset compiled by Coinbase Head of Product Conor Grogan, 912,296.82 ETH, worth over $3.4 billion at current prices, has been rendered inaccessible due to user-side errors and protocol missteps.
Grogan’s research, based on blockchain audits and verifiable public records, excludes cases of lost private keys, meaning the true figure is almost certainly higher. His findings point to several high-profile incidents, including 306,000 ETH trapped in a Parity multisig once used by the Web3 Foundation, 60,000 ETH from the QuadrigaCX collapse, and 11,500 ETH burned unintentionally by the Akutars NFT project.
“Realistically, more than 5% of Ethereum’s supply has been permanently destroyed when you include the 5.3 million ETH burned under EIP‑1559,” Grogan noted.
ETFs Keep Absorbing While ETH Becomes Scarcer
While retail holders continue to lose coins through accidents, institutions are quietly increasing exposure. U.S. Ethereum ETFs now hold $5.5 billion worth of ETH, with BlackRock’s ETHA Trust leading the charge. On July 17 alone, ETHA took in $489 million, marking its highest daily inflow on record. Fidelity’s FETH and Grayscale’s mini trust added $113 million and $54 million, respectively.
With spot Ethereum ETFs posting nine straight weeks of inflows and exchange reserves hitting multi-year lows, the risk of a supply squeeze grows more real by the week. As ETH hovers near $3,100, any significant demand shock could magnify upward price movements given the reduced liquid supply.
What Traders Should Watch Next
Ethereum’s self-custody model leaves no safety net for lost coins, there are no chargebacks, no account freezes, and no recovery for most user errors. As ETFs pull coins off exchanges and more supply vanishes due to mistakes, the market dynamic could shift sharply in the months ahead.
We’ll break down what this means for traders, the likelihood of a future Ethereum supply shock, and how to navigate it in our MCP YouTube stream with active signals sent to the ParadisefamilyVIP.
For real-time market reactions and strategies to protect and grow your portfolio, MCP News Private gives you expert guidance for $3/month, less than most parking fees in a city center, but far more valuable for anyone serious about trading.
