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New York Judge Halts Suit Seeking Control of 39,069 Dormant Bitcoin Wallets Ahead of July Hearing

New York State Justice Kathy J. King on June 4 ordered a pause in a lawsuit that seeks ownership of 39,069 long-inactive Bitcoin wallets, after Ian R. Cohen moved to submit an amicus (friend-of-the-court) brief. Plaintiffs have until July 7 to respond. The wallets are estimated to contain about 3.8 million BTC, valued at roughly $235 billion at current prices. The claim was brought by Noah Doe and two companies, who are relying on New York's lost-and-found property law—a statute courts have not previously applied to cryptoassets. Galaxy Research estimated the average wallet on the list holds 97.25 BTC. Galaxy also linked roughly 21,900 of the cited addresses—about 1.1 million BTC—to wallet activity associated with Satoshi Nakamoto. Why it matters: A court test of how lost-property rules apply to Bitcoin could influence market confidence in assumptions around dormant-wallet ownership and custody. Market sentiment: Cautiously bullish, legal-driven, choppy. The stay reduces near-term legal pressure, but the ownership dispute remains unresolved. Context: Tulip Trading previously argued that developers owed a fiduciary duty to help recover about 111,000 BTC. Bitcoin Core developers said in 2023 that Tulip Trading would need to prove ownership before the case could move forward (Blockworks). The New York matter differs by attempting to use lost-and-found law to claim dormant wallets, rather than focusing on developer obligations following an alleged private-key loss. Ripple effects: A ruling that opens the door to claims on long-inactive addresses could reshape custody expectations. Attention now turns to the July 14 hearing and whether the court treats Bitcoin inactivity as weak evidence of abandonment. Opportunities and risks: - Opportunities: A fuller, adversarial record after the July 14 hearing could strengthen property-right arguments for maintaining exposure through legal headline risk. - Risks: If the court allows the plaintiffs to proceed after July 14, reducing event-risk exposure tied to dormant-wallet headlines could help limit downside from legal uncertainty.
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