NY Court Freezes 'Lost' Bitcoin Wallet Lawsuit Amid $2.48B Transfer Evidence

A lawsuit seeking to claim dormant Bitcoin addresses as lost property has hit a significant roadblock in New York. The Wyoming-based plaintiffs, operating under the pseudonym 'Noah Doe,' targeted over 39,000 inactive Bitcoin addresses, valuing the claim at just $10.

The apparent strategy was to secure a default judgment granting them legal title to approximately 3.799 million BTC, including coins mined during the network's earliest days and attributed to Satoshi Nakamoto.

However, pro-Bitcoin attorney Ian Cohen filed an amicus brief contesting the lawsuit's viability, arguing that New York's lost-property laws do not apply to self-custodied Bitcoin or other digital assets. He also claimed that the state lacks jurisdiction over cryptographic keys.

The intervention yielded immediate results, with a stay being issued on the proceedings by Judge Kathy King, freezing any inquests or potential default judgments. This prevents the plaintiffs from quietly securing a default victory.