Odaily Planet Daily reports that Galaxy filed a statement saying that 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 addresses 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 from the New York Supreme Court, pursuant to New York’s Abandoned Property Law (Personal Property Law § 7-B) and the New York Civil Practice Law and Rules § 3001, declaring ownership of these dormant addresses.
In short, they are attempting to convince a New York court that Bitcoin owned by its creator, Satoshi Nakamoto—and many other lost-address Bitcoins—constitute abandoned property, and that they are legally entitled to claim ownership due to having “found” these cryptocurrencies. Between June 30 and July 10, 2025, they sent “notice of abandonment” to each identified address via OP_RETURN.
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. However, Galaxy states that 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 the presence of these bitcoins at any regulated exchange or custodial institution.