Overview
- Monday coverage amplified a First Amended Complaint filed May 1 that asks the New York Supreme Court to declare Noah Doe and two Wyoming LLCs the owners of 39,069 long‑dormant Bitcoin wallets.
- The complaint says Doe used a proprietary algorithm to identify three batches of dormant addresses between December 2024 and April 2025 and that he delivered lists on USB drives to the NYPD’s 17th Precinct.
- Plaintiffs say they identified 42,001 wallets, removed 2,932 after owner responses or on‑chain moves, and ran an OP_RETURN notice campaign with Salomon Brothers Strategic Advisors before filing suit.
- Outside analysts have attributed large aggregate balances to the listed addresses and one estimate cited about 3.79 million BTC, but that total and historical attributions do not appear in the complaint and are disputed.
- The case tests a legal mismatch: New York Personal Property Law Article 7‑B is being used to seek declaratory title even though control of Bitcoin requires private keys, so a court ruling could reshape how lost keys, estates, and exchanges are treated.