TLDR
- New York lawsuit seeks ownership of 39,069 dormant Bitcoin addresses, including wallets linked to Satoshi Nakamoto.
- Plaintiffs claim each wallet is worth under $10 because private keys remain unavailable.
- Galaxy Digital values the listed dormant Bitcoin wallets at about $293.5 billion today.
- The case uses New York lost-property law to argue silent wallets show abandonment.
- Even with judgment, plaintiffs cannot move coins without the private keys.
A New York lawsuit is testing how old property laws may apply to dormant Bitcoin wallets. The case targets 39,069 Bitcoin addresses, including wallets linked to Satoshi Nakamoto.
The amended complaint was filed by a pseudonymous plaintiff named Noah Doe. Two Wyoming entities, ABC Company and XYZ Company, also joined the claim.
Together, the addresses hold nearly 3.8 million BTC. That equals about 18% of Bitcoin’s fixed 21 million supply.
Plaintiffs claim dormant Bitcoin wallets are lost property
The lawsuit argues that the wallets qualify as abandoned property under New York law. It says the addresses were found, reported, and left unclaimed for more than one year.
According to the complaint, the plaintiffs gave USB drives to the New York Police Department’s 17th Precinct. These drives listed the Bitcoin addresses named in the case.
The plaintiffs also sent notices through Bitcoin’s OP_RETURN feature. They said the messages gave wallet owners a chance to respond within 90 days.
The legal claim relies on Article 7-B of New York’s Personal Property Law. That law lets a finder seek title to lost property after certain steps are completed.
However, Bitcoin wallets are not physical items. They exist on a public blockchain, and control depends on private cryptographic keys.
Satoshi-linked wallets valued below $10 in court claim
The lawsuit says each wallet should be valued below $10. Plaintiffs argue this is because the private keys are unavailable.
That claim creates a sharp divide with blockchain data. Galaxy Digital said the 39,069 addresses hold about $293.5 billion in Bitcoin.
The average address in the case holds 97.25 BTC. Galaxy said that amount is worth roughly $7.5 million at current prices.
The median wallet holds exactly 50 BTC. That figure matches Bitcoin’s early block reward and points to mining activity from the network’s first years.
Galaxy also said about 21,923 addresses show the Patoshi mining pattern. Researchers have long linked that pattern to wallets tied to Satoshi Nakamoto.
Those addresses hold around 1.096 million BTC. They remain among the most watched dormant coins on the Bitcoin ledger.
The case also names other unusual wallets. These include a wallet linked to the 2011 Mt. Gox breach and a known burn address.
Court ruling would not unlock the Bitcoin
A court order would not give the plaintiffs direct access to the Bitcoin. Only the private keys can move coins from those wallets.
Still, a favorable ruling could create legal pressure later. If any coins move to an exchange, custodian, or bank, plaintiffs could seek account freezes.
That would force wallet owners to appear in court. It could also require them to prove their ownership and identity.
The plaintiff is allowed to proceed under a pseudonym. Justice Kathy J. King granted that request due to claimed safety concerns.
Yet the case may force real owners to reveal themselves. This creates a conflict between privacy and property defense.
Galaxy Digital said a technical default could occur by late June 2026. That may happen if no wallet owner responds to the legal notices.
However, a default does not guarantee title. A judge must still review the claim, the service method, and the wallet valuation.
The main legal question remains simple but difficult. Can long-dormant Bitcoin be treated as abandoned property under New York law?
The answer may depend on whether silence proves abandonment. It may also depend on whether a court accepts a value below $10 per wallet.
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