[gojomo]

Not sure this will kill the currency, but it will definitely lead to many fewer than ~21MM units being available. As average folks rather than computer wizards try to hold Bitcoin, many more bitcoins will be lost forever, because private key protection and backup is not a natural thing for humans!

In fact, protection and backup are at least a little at cross-purposes: better backup increases the possibilities for compromise.

So you will see adoption by some of the same kind of hoarders who, at death, are found to have millions in cash or gold hidden in their residence. (One vivid recent example: http://articles.latimes.com/2012/sep/17/nation/la-na-nn-cars... )

Except now with Bitcoin, their private keys and associated balances will be lost forever when they die. Or perhaps even earlier, when they go so batty they can't remember their 'brain wallet' seed.

Saw a great relevant tweet yesterday:

@lawremipsum: "There's always bitcoins on the banana stand hard drive." Alt-Future Arrested Development - https://twitter.com/lawremipsum/status/320970532260544512