A pseudonymous claimant is asking a New York judge to hand over $245 billion in Bitcoin — including Satoshi Nakamoto's coins — without revealing its identity.
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Noah Doe seeks $245B in dormant Bitcoin as New York court weighs unmasking
A plaintiff calling itself "Noah Doe" filed suit in New York County Supreme Court seeking legal title to roughly 3.8 million Bitcoin held across nearly 39,000 allegedly dormant wallets, according to court filings. At Monday's BTC price near $64,500, the stash is worth approximately $245 billion. The case tests whether New York's lost property statute can be used to claim digital assets whose private keys remain inaccessible.
"With bitcoin, possession of the private key IS ownership…you can't 'find' a wallet you can't open, and a dormant address isn't lost property. It's someone's savings that simply hasn't moved," Ian Cohen, the New York attorney who filed an amicus brief opposing the claim, said. Cohen, known as "Bitcoin Lawyer Guy," warned that a favorable ruling could spawn an industry of opportunistic "Bitcoin finders" targeting inactive wallets.
Doe valued each wallet at under $10 to qualify under Article 7-B of New York's Personal Property Law, which offers a faster path to legal title for found items worth less than that threshold. The plaintiffs also claimed to have notified potential owners through public announcements, social media, and blockchain-based OP_RETURN messages — a method Cohen called indistinguishable from spam. "This is not service," he said. "It is a broadcast into a void."
The case has far-reaching implications for Bitcoin ownership rights. Galaxy Research head Alex Thorn counted 52 named addresses that moved 34,335 Bitcoin after the suit's initial filing, including 29 that shifted 12,302 BTC after the OP_RETURN messaging campaign — weakening the premise that owners abandoned their wallets. Judge Kathy King granted Cohen's request to appear as amicus curiae and stayed the case pending an in-person hearing scheduled for July 14 at 60 Centre Street in Manhattan.
The $10 Loophole and the Unmasking Fight
New York law defines "lost property" broadly. Article 7-B, Section 251(3) states that "abandoned property, waifs and treasure trove, and other property which is found, shall be presumed to be lost property" unless challenged within six months. Doe's legal theory exploits this definition by pegging each wallet's value below $10 — a figure that might have been accurate when Bitcoin traded much lower but now represents a fraction of a single BTC's worth.
Cohen has also demanded that Doe justify its pseudonym. "If you want a judge to hand you Satoshi's coins you should have to say your name out loud," he posted on X. While Doe's lawyer, David Lin of Brooklyn firm Lewis & Lin, can represent the plaintiff without requiring a personal appearance, Cohen argued there should be a compelling reason for a party seeking hundreds of billions of dollars to use a fake name. A ruling accepting the plaintiffs' theory, Cohen wrote in his May 29 amicus brief, "could open the door to systematic exploitation of long-dormant bitcoin wallets… effectively creating a private industry of 'Bitcoin finders' operating under color of lost property law."
What a Win Would — and Wouldn't — Mean
Even if the court rules in Doe's favor, enforcement faces a fundamental barrier: private keys cannot be transferred through judicial orders. A favorable ruling would confer only legal ownership recognition from the State of New York, without granting direct access to the Bitcoin itself. The practical impact would emerge only if previously dormant wallets later move funds through exchanges or custodial platforms, potentially triggering competing ownership claims under the new legal framework.
The wallets in question include addresses linked to Bitcoin's pseudonymous creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, identified through the so-called "Patoshi pattern" studied by blockchain analysts. These holdings represent some of the most symbolically significant assets in the cryptocurrency ecosystem. The court has scheduled oral arguments for July 14 in an open courtroom where members of the public may attend.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
