A lawsuit filed in New York by Noah Doe and Wyoming-registered ABC Company and XYZ Company has caused a stir in the cryptocurrency world. The plaintiffs are claiming ownership of 39,069 dormant Bitcoin addresses, including wallets belonging to network founder Satoshi Nakamoto and early miners. They argue that these assets constitute "abandoned property" under New York law. This is reported by Cointelegraph.com reports .
The addresses listed in the lawsuit contain a total of 3.7 million BTC, with a total value of approximately 285 billion USD. The plaintiffs claim they have reported these wallets to the New York Police Department as found property and now consider them assets that can be confiscated like traditional bank accounts. However, legal experts are skeptical about the validity of this claim.
According to Noveleader, a research analyst at Castle Labs, even if the court rules in favor of the plaintiffs, it would be merely symbolic. There is no mechanism in the Bitcoin network to redistribute funds without private keys. Technically, the blockchain network cannot be altered by a court order, making the enforcement of the claim impossible.
Analysts also note that most of these coins belong to deceased individuals, those who have lost their keys, or simply long-term investors. Sani, founder of the Timechain Index, points out that the plaintiffs may have sent legal notices to incorrectly formatted addresses, making the process of legally notifying the owners even more questionable.
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