A New York court has set a July hearing for a rare lawsuit over nearly 39,000 dormant Bitcoin wallets, which hold about 3.7 million BTC worth around $226 billion. The court has also paused the case for now to review important legal arguments.
An anonymous plaintiff, Noah Doe, and two Wyoming companies filed the lawsuit. They claim the wallets count as abandoned property under New York law and should be transferred to whoever finds them.
The case is getting a lot of attention because some wallets may be tied to early Bitcoin activity, including addresses possibly linked to Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto. Other wallets are said to be connected to events like the Mt. Gox collapse.
Critics have pushed back against the lawsuit’s legal theory. Attorney Ian Cohen argues that dormant crypto wallets are not the same as lost physical property, and just because a wallet is inactive does not mean it is abandoned.
The debate grew after some wallets named in the lawsuit recently moved funds, showing that some owners still have access to their assets.
The July 14 hearing is expected to focus on whether the plaintiffs’ legal arguments have sufficient merit to proceed. The outcome could influence how courts approach dormant digital assets and ownership disputes in the future.
🚨🚨🚨A New York suit by “Noah Doe” and two Wyoming LLCs seeks a court order confirming their ownership of 39,069 long‑dormant Bitcoin wallets, arguing the wallets are legally “abandoned” property they found, reported to NYPD, noticed on‑chain and in the press, and then claimed… pic.twitter.com/34gH1Jqxxx
— Sani | TimechainIndex.com (@SaniExp) May 24, 2026
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