Bitcoin Policy Institute challenges dormant Bitcoin lawsuit

The Bitcoin Policy Institute opposes a New York lawsuit seeking to claim 3.7 million dormant Bitcoin as abandoned, arguing that inactivity alone doesn’t mean coins are abandoned.

A series of lawsuits in the New York County Supreme Court seek to claim ownership of approximately 3.7 million dormant Bitcoin. These include coins linked to Satoshi-era addresses and those associated with the Mt. Gox hack. The plaintiffs, led by a pseudonymous figure known as Noah Doe and two Wyoming-based companies, argue that wallets left untouched for years should be classified as abandoned property under New York’s lost-and-found law. They claim to have identified around 39,000 dormant wallets, reported them to authorities, attempted to contact the owners, and subsequently asked the court to declare the wallets abandoned. The Bitcoin Policy Institute (BPI), a nonprofit research organization, has intervened as a defendant, filing a motion to dismiss and presenting several affirmative defenses. BPI and other groups argue that self-custodied Bitcoin should not be considered abandoned solely due to inactivity. The case is currently paused pending a July 14 hearing, and at least 31 of the listed addresses have moved coins since the lawsuit was filed, challenging the plaintiffs’ abandonment claims.