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Key Takeaways
- A New York judge paused a lawsuit claiming 39,069 dormant Bitcoin wallets holding roughly 3.8 million BTC, with a hearing set for July 14.
- Galaxy Research estimates the average listed wallet holds 97.25 BTC and flags approximately 21,900 addresses as linked to Satoshi Nakamoto, with many sitting in quantum-vulnerable addresses.
- Attorney Ian R. Cohen argues New York’s lost-and-found law applies only to physical objects and that dormant Bitcoin on a public blockchain does not qualify as abandoned property.
A New York judge has paused a lawsuit seeking ownership of 39,069 dormant Bitcoin wallets holding approximately 3.8 million BTC, worth roughly $239 billion based on a BTC price of approximately $63 116.80 as of June 8, with a hearing scheduled for July 14. Justice Kathy J. King signed the stay order on June 4, following a motion by a New York attorney seeking to file a friend-of-the-court brief opposing the case.
Anonymous Plaintiffs Filed in March and Expanded the Claim to 39,069 Wallets in May
The lawsuit was filed in March by an anonymous plaintiff identified as Noah Doe and two companies. The plaintiffs expanded the case on May 1 to cover 39,069 wallets. Their legal theory rests on New York’s lost-and-found law, under which a finder may claim lost property if the original owner never comes forward. Courts have not previously applied that statute to cryptocurrency.
The plaintiffs’ unnamed expert valued each wallet at under $10. Galaxy Research disputed that figure, countering that the average listed wallet holds 97.25 BTC, worth approximately $6 million at current prices. Galaxy also identified approximately 21,900 of the listed addresses, holding roughly 1.1 million BTC, as linked to Satoshi Nakamoto’s wallet activity, and noted that many of those addresses sit in quantum-vulnerable Bitcoin addresses.
One of the listed wallets holds approximately 79,957 BTC traced to the 2011 Mt. Gox hack. The Mt. Gox repayment process remains ongoing in Japan, creating a potential conflict with the plaintiffs’ claims.
Attorney Ian R. Cohen Argues Bitcoin on a Public Blockchain Was Never Lost
The stay followed a motion by Ian R. Cohen, a New York attorney who owns Bitcoin, seeking permission to file a friend-of-the-court brief against the case. Cohen argues that New York’s lost-and-found law applies to physical objects a person can pick up and hold, and that Bitcoin recorded on a publicly visible blockchain does not meet that definition.
“A wallet that has been dormant for ten years, whose private key is stored on a steel plate in a bank vault, is not abandoned property. It is securely held property,” Cohen wrote in his proposed brief.
He also pointed to a 2022 law directing unclaimed cryptocurrency to the state rather than to private finders. On-chain data cited in the filings showed that 339 of the listed wallets moved coins after blockchain notices went out in 2025, activity Cohen characterized as consistent with other Satoshi-era wallet activity observed during the same period.
Plaintiffs Have Until July 7 to Respond Before the July 14 Hearing
The plaintiffs have until July 7 to respond to Cohen’s motion. The July 14 hearing before Justice King will determine whether his brief is admitted, which would give the case its first formal opposing voice in court. No ruling on the underlying claims is expected before that date.
