How are BitCoins that are stored offline still tracked in the network?

How are BitCoins that are stored offline still tracked in the network? #bitcoin

Quote from: Baykun on January 25, 2013, 07:28:49 PM If the BitCoins are offline, how could the BitCoin network know if they are destroyed, lost, or never to be used again? The bitcoins are not actually stored offline. Only the private key. Imagine it like a mailbox, anybody can put money in, but only the person with the key can move the money to another box. When you make a transaction, it is like sticking some of the money out of the box with a receipt saying where to put it; the miners come along and whoever wins the miner lottery takes all the money sticking out of the boxes and puts it where the receipts say, keeping whatever tip is sticking out with it (the transaction fee) and adding a new bunch of money out of thin air (the block reward, currently 25 btc). Having an "ofline" wallet just means that the private key for that bitcoin address is stored somewhere like wri...

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