Overview
- The lawsuit by a pseudonymous plaintiff called Noah Doe and two Wyoming firms asks a New York court to declare 39,069 long‑dormant Bitcoin addresses abandoned under Article 7‑B of state law.
- The disputed addresses are reported to hold roughly 3.7–3.8 million BTC, a figure industry analysts value at about $230–$235 billion.
- Blockchain monitoring has shown fresh activity that complicates the claim of abandonment, including one 14‑year dormant address moving 30 BTC and 31 named wallets transferring a combined 17,527 BTC in June.
- Formal legal opposition has grown: a defendant using the name John Doe 33 moved to dismiss the case and the Digital Chamber filed an amicus brief arguing the plaintiffs’ theory would create legal uncertainty for self‑custody.
- Proceedings are stayed until oral argument on July 14 so the court can resolve procedural and legal questions, and experts note that even a favorable ruling would not give plaintiffs the private keys needed to control any recovered coins.