U.S. Court Clears FBI in Bitcoin Hard Drive Destruction

A U.S. court has ruled that the FBI is not liable for the destruction of a hard drive containing 3,400 bitcoins. The owner had initially denied possessing such a large amount of bitcoin, prompting the government to cease its investigation into the cryptocurrency’s whereabouts. Consequently, the device was disposed of according to standard protocols after notification. This case adds to the mounting number of irretrievably lost Bitcoin, with current estimates suggesting that approximately 3.7 million bitcoins, or 18% of the total supply, may be permanently gone forever.