Satoshi's Stash? Lawyer Tells Court Dormant Wallets Aren't Abandoned Lunch Money 🧑‍⚖️

Attorney Ian R. Cohen has submitted a rebuttal in a New York case that could determine the legal status of dormant Bitcoin, including wallets associated with the cryptocurrency's pseudonymous creator, Satoshi Nakamoto. The filing pushes back against an effort to lift a court-ordered stay in a lawsuit filed by anonymous plaintiffs ABC Company, XYZ Company, and Noah Doe, who claim ownership rights over 39,069 Bitcoin addresses and have alleged that the targeted holdings constitute abandoned property.

Galaxy Digital research head Alex Thorn stated on X that the dispute could affect approximately 3.799 million $BTC, valued at roughly $238 billion. Thorn characterized Cohen's June 19 filing as a "strong rebuttal" to any attempt by plaintiffs' attorney David Lin to lift the stay. The stay was originally granted by Justice Kathy King on June 4 after Cohen filed an application to appear as amicus in the matter. A hearing on the amicus brief has been scheduled for July 14.

Cohen has previously argued that New York's lost property law does not cover self-custodied $BTC and that wallet dormancy does not amount to abandonment. He has also maintained that New York courts lack jurisdiction over private keys. In a post on X, Thorn wrote that Cohen "argues plaintiffs have a duty of candor," noting that because the blockchain is public, any movement from an "abandoned" address would demonstrate that the keys are not lost and undermine the plaintiffs' core premise. The case continues to unfold in New York courts as the July hearing approaches.