TLDR
- New York Supreme Court has halted proceedings in a case targeting 39,069 inactive Bitcoin wallets valued at approximately $234 billion
- Pseudonymous plaintiff “Noah Doe” initiated the case using New York’s abandoned property legislation
- Legal expert Ian R. Cohen submitted a friend-of-the-court brief challenging the legal basis for declaring crypto wallets abandoned
- Multiple targeted wallets have begun moving cryptocurrency following public disclosure of the lawsuit
- Court hearing scheduled for July 14 to determine whether the amicus brief will be formally accepted
A New York Supreme Court justice has temporarily halted a controversial legal action seeking to establish ownership over approximately 40,000 inactive Bitcoin wallets. The litigation, initiated by an anonymous party identifying as “Noah Doe,” encompasses wallets containing roughly 3.8 million BTC, currently valued at approximately $234 billion.
Justice Kathy J. King executed the stay order on June 4, with public filing completed the following day on June 5. The order suspends all case activities, including any attempts to secure a default judgment. The court has set a hearing date of July 14 at the New York County courthouse to address the matter.
The lawsuit, formally titled ABC Company, XYZ Company, and Noah Doe v. John Does 1-39,069, was originally filed March 11, 2026, with amendments submitted May 1. According to court documents, Noah Doe developed an algorithmic system to locate dormant wallets exhibiting security weaknesses. Between December 2024 and April 2025, he provided USB storage devices listing the wallet addresses to the NYPD’s 17th Precinct.
Subsequently, Noah Doe engaged a cybersecurity specialist to transmit OP_RETURN blockchain messages to each identified wallet, instructing holders to visit a designated website where they had 90 days to demonstrate their wallets remained actively owned. From an initial pool of 42,001 wallets, 424 wallet holders came forward and were excluded from the claim. The remaining 39,069 wallets became the subject of the declaratory judgment action filed under New York’s abandoned property regulations.
The Amicus Brief That Stopped the Case
On May 29, New York legal practitioner Ian R. Cohen petitioned the court for amicus curiae status, accompanying his motion with a comprehensive 26-page brief challenging the lawsuit’s foundation. Cohen acts independently, representing no party and holding no personal financial stake in the case’s resolution.
Cohen’s central contention asserts that New York’s lost-and-found legislation was crafted specifically for tangible, physical items rather than digital blockchain assets. He maintains that using an algorithm to scan a publicly accessible distributed ledger does not qualify someone as a legal “finder” under existing statutes.
Cohen additionally highlighted that New York’s Abandoned Property Law underwent amendments in 2022 explicitly addressing unclaimed virtual currency. Under those provisions, dormant cryptocurrency must be transferred to the State Comptroller rather than private individuals.
He further contended that blockchain OP_RETURN messages combined with a worldwide press release fail to satisfy constitutional requirements for proper legal notification, especially concerning deceased wallet owners or individuals who don’t speak English.
“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.
Wallets Are Starting to Move
Following widespread media coverage of the lawsuit, numerous targeted wallets have initiated transactions. On June 6, a wallet inactive since June 2011 transferred 47.26 BTC, representing approximately $2.88 million in current value. Two days earlier on June 2, a separate wallet untouched since March 2011 moved 35.55 BTC.
Galaxy Research head Alex Thorn noted the activity on X, saying 2011-era coins named in the case are “awakening and moving onchain.”
The comprehensive wallet inventory includes the “1Feex” address, which contains approximately 80,000 BTC and has been publicly associated with the 2011 Mt. Gox hack. Cohen’s legal brief emphasized that a New York court declaration of ownership regarding those particular assets could create jurisdictional conflicts with ongoing Japanese civil rehabilitation proceedings and potential United States federal asset forfeiture interests.
The court’s stay order means proceedings now advance toward the July 14 hearing with Cohen’s legal arguments officially submitted for consideration. The plaintiffs have been given until July 7 to file their opposing response.
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