A New York judge has paused a lawsuit that seeks ownership of 39,069 dormant Bitcoin wallets holding about 3.8 million BTC, worth roughly $235 billion. The anonymous plaintiff, Noah Doe, and two companies filed the case in March and expanded it on May 1, relying on New York’s lost-and-found law, which allows finders to keep lost property if the owner never claims it. However, courts have never applied this law to cryptocurrency. Galaxy Research contests the plaintiffs' valuation of each wallet at under $10, noting that the average wallet holds 97.25 BTC (about $6 million). The first defendant wallet contains approximately 79,957 BTC from the 2011 Mt. Gox hack, whose repayment process is ongoing in Japan. Additionally, about 21,900 listed addresses with roughly 1.1 million BTC are tied to Satoshi Nakamoto’s wallet activity, many of which are in quantum-vulnerable addresses. The stay followed a motion by lawyer Ian R. Cohen, who argues that Bitcoin on a public blockchain cannot be considered lost property, as it is publicly visible and secure. He also points to a 2022 New York law that sends unclaimed crypto to the state, not private finders. On-chain data supports this: after blockchain notices in 2025, 339 wallets moved coins. The court will hold a hearing on July 14 to decide on Cohen's intervention.

Key facts

• Lawsuit claims 39,069 dormant Bitcoin wallets with ~3.8M BTC ($235B).
• Plaintiffs rely on New York lost-and-found law, never applied to crypto.
• First wallet contains 79,957 BTC from 2011 Mt. Gox hack.
• 21,900 addresses tied to Satoshi, many quantum-vulnerable.
• Judge paused case after lawyer argued Bitcoin can't be 'lost' on blockchain.

KeyAudit data perspective