NY court freezes bid to claim 39,069 bitcoin wallets (~$293B)

A New York Supreme Court judge on June 5 stayed a suit that sought ownership of 39,069 bitcoin addresses, halting efforts to obtain a default judgment while the matter proceeds to further hearing. The court action followed an amicus brief filed by attorney Ian R. Cohen on May 29 challenging the legal basis for the claim.

The suit, filed March 11 and amended May 1, is styled as ABC Company, XYZ Company, and Noah Doe v. John Does 1–39,069. The plaintiff identified as Noah Doe says he used an algorithm to find dormant bitcoin addresses he believed showed a security vulnerability, delivered lists of those addresses to the NYPD’s 17th Precinct between December 2024 and April 2025, and inserted OP_RETURN messages directing holders to a webpage with 90 days to prove ownership. Of 42,001 addresses initially listed, 424 showed on‑chain activity and were removed from the claim; the remaining 39,069 are the focus of the lawsuit.

Cohen’s filing argues New York’s lost-and-found statute, Article 7-B of the Personal Property Law, applies to tangible items and not to entries on a public blockchain. The brief asserts that scanning a public ledger does not make the scanner a “finder” under the statute and that dormancy alone does not equal abandonment. “Mere inactivity, no matter how prolonged, is not abandonment,” Cohen wrote, and he invoked a common bitcoin maxim: “Not your keys, not your coins.”

The amicus brief also pointed to New York’s Abandoned Property Law, amended in 2022 to address unclaimed virtual currency, which directs dormant crypto to the State Comptroller rather than to private claimants. The filing raised questions about whether OP_RETURN messages and a global press release constitute constitutionally adequate notice and noted jurisdictional issues, including whether bitcoin has a legal situs in New York and whether most wallet holders are New York residents.

Acting Justice Emily Morales-Minerva recused herself from the case on March 23, citing an ethical conflict tied to related decisions in the jurisdiction. On June 5, Judge Kathy J. King issued a Decision and Order on Motion No. 001 that the court described as an injunction and restraining order and stayed proceedings on Motion No. 004 tied to the amicus filing.

The litigation coincides with renewed on‑chain activity in some of the oldest defendant addresses. On June 6, a wallet dormant since June 17, 2011, moved 47.26 BTC. On June 2, another address last active in March 2011 moved 35.55 BTC, and a separate transfer spent 25 BTC tied to a Casascius coin redemption. Alex Thorn, head of firmwide research at Galaxy, wrote that several 2011-era coins named in the case have begun moving onchain.

The stay prevents the plaintiffs from obtaining an uncontested default judgment while the court considers the legal challenges raised in Cohen’s brief. The next court date will address whether New York’s lost-and-found statute or the state’s escheat framework governs dormant bitcoin and other legal questions raised by the filings.