New York Judge Pauses Ownership Lawsuit Over 39,000 Dormant Bitcoin Wallets, Hearing Set for July 14

Odaily News: Judge Kathy J. King of the New York Supreme Court has signed an order to pause a lawsuit seeking to claim ownership of 39,069 dormant Bitcoin wallets, and has scheduled a hearing for July 14 regarding a key amicus brief.

The plaintiffs in the case are a pseudonymous individual known as "Noah Doe" and two shell companies, seeking to claim these wallets under New York's abandoned property law. Attorney Ian R. Cohen filed an amicus brief opposing the plaintiffs' claims. He argued that the abandoned property law is intended for tangible items, whereas blockchain addresses are always visible to the world; and that if the original owners were unable to access assets due to security vulnerabilities, it constitutes a passive loss of access rights rather than a voluntary surrender. (The Block)