Author: Luke Dashjr 2017-12-11 18:34:12
Published on: 2017-12-11T18:34:12+00:00
In a bitcoin-dev message, Luke Dashjr proposed extending the range of relative lock-times to allow for several years. Currently, it is only possible to implement this feature for one year expirations. This proposal could help address the issue of lost bitcoins, which is estimated to be around 4 million of the 16.4 million ever mined. Dormant addresses would automatically expire after a fixed length of time, such as ten years, using a dead man's switch. The calculation of miner rewards would also take into account expired bitcoins. However, there is no way to eliminate human errors that cause these losses from circulation, and the total number of bitcoins in circulation will eventually reach zero when the cap of 21 million is reached.
Updated on: 2023-06-12T23:02:59.810012+00:00