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Ethereum News Today: Ethereum Loses $3.43 Billion Due to User Errors and Bugs
Coin WorldMonday, Jul 21, 2025 5:52 pm ET
2min read
Aime SummaryAccording to
Product Director Conor Grogan, as of January 31, 2025, at least 913,111 ETH has been lost due to mistakes made by holders. The lost tokens are worth approximately $3.43 billion, representing 0.76% of the circulating supply.Grogan shared his analysis on July 21 via a post on X, noting that if we include the 5.3 million ETH burned through EIP-1559, then more than 5% of the total supply ever created has been permanently destroyed. This translates to $23.42 billion worth of the cryptocurrency. The Coinbase executive added that this amount only covers ETH that is locked forever, which is much lower than what has been lost or is unreachable. “To be clear, this $3.4B+ number significantly undershoots the actual lost/inaccessible ETH amount,” he explained.
For instance, the results do not account for all missing private keys or dormant wallets like forgotten Genesis wallets. His report also lists addresses and transaction details and reveals how each loss happened. The findings are based on verified on-chain data, including cases where the cryptocurrency was sent to irretrievable addresses, locked in malfunctioning smart contracts, or forfeited through wallet mismanagement.
One of the most significant incidents highlighted occurred in 2017, when the Web3 Foundation wrote off 306,000 ETH after a bug in the Parity wallet let someone shut down a key part of the system, blocking access to those funds. Another case involved the Canadian exchange QuadrigaCX, which locked 60,000 ETH in a smart contract with no way to withdraw the funds. In 2022, the Akutars NFT project also trapped 11,500 ETH during a sale due to a smart contract flaw that stopped refunds from being sent to people. Additionally, more than 25,000 ETH has been collectively sent by users to a burn address for reasons that remain unknown.
Elsewhere, a report reveals that crypto investors lost $2.47 billion to security breaches, scams, and exploits, surpassing the total recorded in 2024.
was the most targeted blockchain, accounting for 175 separate incidents and $1.63 billion in stolen funds. Wallet compromises emerged as the most damaging form of breach, responsible for losses of up to $1.7 billion across just 34 incidents. On the other hand, phishing attacks were the most frequent, with 132 incidents resulting in the theft of $410 million from crypto users. The network’s appeal to hackers is due to its leading role in decentralized finance (DeFi) and high volume of smart contract activity. Additionally, billions of dollars remain locked in Ethereum-based protocols, making them attractive targets for bad actors.This significant loss underscores the critical need for improved user education and security measures within the cryptocurrency ecosystem. The loss of such a substantial amount of ETH highlights the vulnerabilities that exist within the blockchain network, particularly when it comes to user interactions and the potential for errors. The loss of ETH due to user errors and bugs has surged by 44% since March 2023. This increase in lost ETH is a concerning trend that indicates a growing problem within the Ethereum network. The current structure of Ethereum, while innovative and groundbreaking, appears to be susceptible to user mistakes and technical glitches. This situation calls for a reevaluation of the network's design and the implementation of more robust security protocols to protect users' assets.
The loss of ETH due to user errors and bugs is a significant issue that requires immediate attention. The Ethereum community must work together to address this problem and find solutions that can prevent such losses in the future. This includes improving user education, enhancing security measures, and developing more user-friendly interfaces that can minimize the risk of errors. By taking these steps, the Ethereum network can become more secure and reliable, ensuring that users' assets are protected and that the network continues to thrive.
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