BlockBeats news, June 1: According to Galaxy Research, in March, the New York State Supreme Court quietly accepted a lawsuit seeking to establish ownership of over 3.7 million bitcoins (approximately $274 billion) associated with 39,069 Bitcoin addresses, including those belonging to Bitcoin’s founder, Satoshi Nakamoto (21,744 addresses holding 1.09 million bitcoins, valued at $83.7 billion at current prices).
The plaintiffs are Noah Doe (a pseudonym) and two unnamed Wyoming limited liability companies, and Noah Doe seeks a declaratory judgment under New York’s Abandoned Property Law (Article 7-B of the Personal Property Law) (New York Civil Practice Law and Rules § 3001) to establish ownership of these dormant wallets.
In short, they are trying to get a New York court to rule that Bitcoin owned by its creator, Satoshi Nakamoto—and many other lost-address Bitcoins—are abandoned property, and that they are legally entitled to claim them because they “found” these cryptocurrencies. Between June 30 and July 10, 2025, they sent “disclaimer notices” to each found address via OP_RETURN.
However, even if they win the case outright, they will only receive a court order—they will not obtain any private keys or be able to transfer any bitcoins from these addresses. But Galaxy says the true value of the New York ruling lies in its ability to serve as a “cloud on title,” allowing plaintiff Noah Doe to use this document to challenge any exchange or custodian if these bitcoins appear on a regulated platform.