But in a way, we have to be thankful for this lost bitcoins. It was a substantial contributing factor of bitcoin's current price strength as it lowered the total number of bitcoins in circulation and it ensures that the total amount of coins will be well below 21 million after the last bitcoin has been unearthed.
My view is that I don't totally succumb to the believe in OP's hypothesis that lost bitcoin are more like the reason that bitcoin gained value. We have coins that are not close to 21m in maximum supply and are not close to the price of bitcoin too. I think the technology, use and community are responsible for that.