A legal filing in New York is seeking a court declaration that would classify 39,069 long‑dormant Bitcoin wallets as abandoned property, potentially affecting an estimated 3.79 million BTC. The case, submitted to the Supreme Court of the State of New York by plaintiff “Noah Doe” and two Wyoming LLCs, names “John Does 1–39,069” as respondents and asks the court to recognize the plaintiffs’ claimed rights to the wallets and their contents.
The complaint argues that the wallets, which have shown no activity for extended periods, satisfy New York’s lost‑and‑found law. Doe allegedly reported the addresses to the New York Police Department on USB drives and later assigned most claimed rights to ABC Company and XYZ Company. The filing compares digital wallets to bank accounts, but critics note that without the corresponding private keys, the Bitcoin cannot be moved — a practical barrier that makes enforcement improbable.
The litigation follows an on‑chain notice campaign tied to Salomon Brothers Strategic Advisors, which sent OP_RETURN messages to thousands of dormant addresses in 2025. Galaxy Research described the operation as the “Great Bitcoin Dusting,” finding that 98.82% of notified addresses were legacy P2PKH addresses and that the average dormancy was nearly six years. The firm also noted that many high‑profile addresses — including some attributed to Satoshi Nakamoto — were contacted via P2PKH versions with minimal balances, while the main funds remained in older P2PK outputs, raising questions about whether proper notice was ever delivered.
While the lawsuit is unlikely to force a transfer of coins, it highlights the growing legal uncertainty around dormant digital assets and how traditional property laws apply to blockchain‑based currencies. For now, ownership remains tied to private keys, and the defendant wallets stay beyond the court’s reach.
