Bitcoin Billionaire Michael Saylor Champions the Idea of Burning Bitcoin Keys After Death

Chances are that the contents of the deceased person's private wallet, including BTC holdings, will be lost forever unless someone accesses the pass keys.

Prominent Bitcoin (BTC) holder and MicroStrategy chairman Michael Saylor recently stated that he believes burning private keys after death is a pro rata contribution to all other BTC holders.

This statement ties in with the concept of Bitcoin’s real scarcity, which is impacted by the loss of BTC over time. While the maximum supply of Bitcoin is capped at 21 million, a significant amount of BTC is lost due to lost addresses. These lost coins are never moved again, contributing to Bitcoin’s value.

Saylor’s statement also brings to mind the 1 million BTC held in Bitcoin founder Satoshi Nakamoto’s wallet, which have remained dormant since the network’s early days. There is ongoing speculation about the identity of Satoshi, with some believing it could be Hal Finney, who received the first BTC sent on the Bitcoin blockchain.

However, Finney denied these claims and passed away in 2014. Despite this, some still speculate that Finney was involved in the creation of Bitcoin due to his early involvement in the network.

If more Bitcoin billionaires choose to burn their private keys after death, the floor price of BTC will continue to rise, making the remaining coins exchanging hands on the internet even more valuable in the long run.

At the time of writing, Saylor owned 17,732 BTC, valued at over $1.7 billion at current market prices. According to recent data, there are less than 30 known BTC billionaires.

Saylor has expressed his desire to leave a legacy of having influenced institutional Bitcoin adoption.