A pseudonymous Bitcoin holder operating under the name John Doe 33 has formally appeared in New York Supreme Court to oppose a lawsuit that seeks legal ownership of roughly 3.8 million BTC held in long-dormant addresses, many of which are tied to Bitcoin's creator, Satoshi Nakamoto. The lawsuit, filed by Noah Doe alongside two Wyoming LLCs (ABC Company and XYZ Company), claims the 39,069 dormant wallets constitute abandoned property under Article 7-B of the New York Personal Property Law, and asks the court to grant them title to over $200 billion worth of Bitcoin.
John Doe 33 entered a notice of appearance on June 30, stating emphatically that he is "a natural person and a real human being" with constitutionally protected property rights, and not "a Bitcoin blockchain address string, a digital wallet, a line of source code, or any other form of inanimate data." His filing marks the first time a real individual has stepped forward to defend the wallets, shifting the case away from its original posture of targeting silent addresses. The respondent also requested permission to proceed pseudonymously, citing risks of doxxing, extortion, and physical harm common among known large Bitcoin holders.
The legal challenge follows an earlier amicus brief by pro-Bitcoin attorney Ian Cohen, who argued that blockchain dormancy does not equate to abandonment under the law. That intervention prompted Justice Kathy J. King to freeze the case on June 5 and schedule a hearing for July 14. Meanwhile, on-chain data revealed that 52 of the named addresses had recently moved about 34,335 BTC worth over $2 billion, further weakening the plaintiffs’ abandoned-property theory.
John Doe 33 has filed a motion to dismiss alongside his appearance, reserving all defenses. If the court allows him to litigate under a pseudonym, other potential holders could similarly contest the lawsuit without publicly revealing their identities. The outcome of these preliminary motions could determine whether the claim advances, and whether courts can treat dormant Bitcoin wallets as lost property—a precedent that would reverberate through the crypto industry.
