For users who misplace a wallet or key, the process can be overwhelmingly frustrating. However, the misplacement and potential loss of 20% of all BTC tokens should have little effect on the broader cryptocurrency industry. Bitcoin is easily split into very small denominations, unlike fiat currency. This allows for loss of a sizable quantity of BTC without an overall impact on the currency itself. Even given that miners are approaching the final BTC, the rate of loss of tokens can continue for years without there being any sort of impact on the functionality of the coin. Indeed, even if there were very few individual tokens, the protocol for how BTC can be divided could be adjusted to facilitate its continued functioning. Of course, this doesn't help those people who have lost their tokens.