New York Court Hears Case Claiming Ownership of Bitcoin from Dormant Addresses, Including Satoshi Nakamoto's, Worth a Total of $274 Billion

Odaily reports that Galaxy stated in March this year, the New York State Supreme Court quietly accepted a lawsuit seeking to confirm the ownership of over 3.7 million Bitcoin (worth approximately $274 billion) associated with 39,069 Bitcoin addresses. This includes addresses belonging to Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto (a total of 21,744 addresses holding 1.09 million Bitcoin, valued at $83.7 billion at current prices).

The plaintiff is Noah Doe (a pseudonym) and two unnamed Wyoming limited liability companies. Noah Doe requests the New York State Supreme Court to declare, via a declaratory judgment action (New York Civil Practice Law and Rules Section 3001) under the New York State Abandoned Property Law (Personal Property Law Article 7-B), that they possess ownership of these dormant addresses.

In short, they seek a ruling from a New York court that the Bitcoin belonging to founder Satoshi Nakamoto (along with many other lost Bitcoin addresses) constitutes abandoned property. They argue they are entitled to legal ownership by virtue of "finding" these cryptocurrencies. From June 30 to July 10, 2025, they sent "disclaimer notices" to each found address via OP_RETURN.

However, even if they win the case entirely, they will ultimately only obtain a court declaration. They will not receive any private keys, nor will they be able to transfer any Bitcoin from these addresses. But Galaxy states that the true value of the New York ruling lies in its ability to act as a "cloud on title." If these Bitcoins ever appear on any regulated platform, plaintiff Noah Doe could use this document to file a claim with an exchange or custodian.