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Someone going by “Noah Doe” has walked into New York Supreme Court and essentially said: all this Bitcoin that nobody’s touched in years? It’s mine now. The lawsuit targets 39,069 dormant Bitcoin addresses holding approximately 3.8 million BTC, valued somewhere between $235 billion and $293 billion.
The case, initially filed on March 11, 2026, and amended on May 1, 2026, seeks a declaratory judgment under New York Personal Property Law Article 7-B, arguing that the coins in those wallets constitute “lost property.” The plaintiffs never held the private keys to any of these addresses. They can’t actually move the Bitcoin. They just want a court to say it belongs to them on paper.
What’s actually in these wallets
The addresses aren’t just random forgotten wallets. Some 21,923 addresses holding roughly 1.096 million BTC are Patoshi-pattern addresses — the wallets widely believed to belong to Satoshi Nakamoto, Bitcoin’s pseudonymous creator.
The list also includes an address linked to the collapsed exchange Mt. Gox containing 79,957 BTC, plus addresses that overlap significantly with a 2025 “dusting” campaign that Galaxy Digital previously analyzed. Dusting involves sending tiny amounts of crypto to dormant wallets, often to trace ownership or test activity.
Noah Doe and two Wyoming LLCs filed the suit after reportedly turning over USB drives containing address data to the NYPD in late 2025, then following statutory title vesting procedures into 2026.
The Bitcoin that moved at the worst possible time
On June 2, 2026, one of the supposedly dormant addresses transferred approximately 35.55 BTC. That single transaction directly undermines the plaintiffs’ core argument that these addresses are abandoned.
As of June 5, proceedings have been stayed. A hearing on an amicus brief is scheduled for July 14, 2026.
Why this matters for every Bitcoin holder
A favorable ruling wouldn’t give the plaintiffs the ability to spend the Bitcoin. What it could do is create a legal cloud over those addresses, making it complicated for anyone to sell, trade, or move those coins through regulated channels. Exchanges operating in the US would face difficult questions about whether to honor transactions from wallets a court has declared belong to someone else.
If dormant Bitcoin can be classified as abandoned property under state law, every long-term holder who doesn’t regularly transact might face similar claims. The implications for cold storage strategies, estate planning, and institutional custody are significant.
For exchanges and custodians, the case introduces a new category of compliance risk. If certain addresses carry legal encumbrances, platforms would need systems to flag and potentially freeze associated deposits.
The July 14 hearing will be worth watching closely. The amicus brief could come from industry groups, other claimants to the addresses — Mt. Gox creditors have an obvious interest — or government entities weighing in on how digital property should be treated under existing statutes written decades before Bitcoin existed.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
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