According to the source, a claim has circulated that a U.S. court found the FBI not liable for wiping a hard drive allegedly holding 3,400 BTC; traders should seek an official court opinion or docket before acting on this headline, as independent verification is required (source: official court records/PACER or DOJ press materials, verification pending). Independently of this claim, on-chain research estimates 2.6–3.7 million BTC are likely lost or unrecoverable, representing roughly 12–18% of Bitcoin’s eventual 21 million cap, which reduces effective free float (source: Chainalysis research 2017; Glassnode Lost Coins analysis 2020; Bitcoin protocol supply cap as documented by Bitcoin.org). Growing illiquid supply and rising coin dormancy into 2023–2024 have historically coincided with stronger BTC trend persistence, tightening order book depth and widening slippage during rallies and drawdowns (source: Glassnode on-chain reports 2023–2024). For trading, consider laddered limit entries, wider stops, and monitoring exchange reserves and Illiquid Supply Change to gauge potential supply squeezes that can accelerate moves (source: Glassnode on-chain metrics; CryptoQuant exchange reserve dashboards). If the cited legal ruling is confirmed, the additional 3,400 BTC would incrementally reinforce the long-term illiquid supply trend rather than change near-term flows, but confirmation is essential before incorporating it into risk models (source: official court records; Chainalysis/Glassnode supply studies).

According to @CryptoMichNL, James Howells lost 8000 BTC in 2013, and he highlights a project discussed on New Era Finance that he says could help recover those coins while noting the stash would exceed $9 billion at current valuations. Source: twitter.com/CryptoMichNL/status/1971862375403082155. @CryptoMichNL directs traders to the full discussion for details via a YouTube link and an X thread from @new_era_finance, positioning wallet recovery solutions as the core topic for market participants to review. Source: youtube.com/watch?v=Co42H9dM06I; x.com/new_era_finance/status/1971583036832821446.