Dormant Bitcoin Wallets Spark Legal Debate in New York Court
- On June 6, a transaction involving 47.26 BTC, worth approximately $2.88 million, moved from a wallet dormant since June 17, 2011.
- The wallet is part of a New York Supreme Court case involving ABC Company, XYZ Company, and Noah Doe against John Does with Index No. 153119/2026.
- The case targets around 39,069 wallets valued at roughly $293 billion under the premise they are abandoned.
- NY attorney Ian R. Cohen filed an amicus brief challenging the legal theory that dormant wallets are abandoned property.
- Judge Kathy J. King issued a stay on June 5 to halt proceedings pending further hearings on the matter.
This legal battle over dormant Bitcoin wallets questions whether inactivity equates to abandonment under New York’s lost-and-found statute for physical property, now being applied to digital assets like cryptocurrency.
The court’s stay highlights significant legal questions about ownership rights and jurisdiction over long-dormant cryptocurrency holdings valued at billions of dollars. (Source)
