One of the biggest factors differentiating Bitcoin (BTC) from fiat currency and most cryptocurrencies is the hard limit of 21 million on its total circulating supply. However, the demise of numerous crypto exchanges over the last decade has permanently taken out at least 5.7% (1.2 million BTC) of the total issuable Bitcoin from circulation.

The lack of clarity around a crypto exchange’s proof-of-reserves came out as the primary reason for their sudden collapses, as seen recently with FTX. Historical data around crypto crashes revealed that 14 crypto exchanges, together, were responsible for the loss of 1,195,000 BTC, which represents 6.3% of the 19.2 Bitcoin currently in circulation.

(By  Arijit Sarkar)