- A Bitcoin wallet holder asked a New York court to dismiss a lawsuit over $234 billion in dormant BTC.
- The case questions whether public Bitcoin wallet addresses can be treated as property under New York law.
- The legal battle comes as authorities expand efforts to trace, freeze, and recover crypto assets worldwide.
A legal fight over billions of dollars worth of dormant Bitcoin has reached a key stage after a pseudonymous wallet holder asked a New York court to throw out a lawsuit seeking ownership of thousands of inactive Bitcoin addresses.
In a filing made on Thursday, the defendant, identified as “John Doe 33,” argued that Bitcoin wallet addresses are public records on the blockchain and cannot be treated as property that can be sued under New York law.
The lawsuit seeks control of 39,069 dormant Bitcoin addresses holding about 3.7 million BTC, worth roughly $234 billion at current prices. John Doe 33, who says he controls one of the wallets listed in the case, is challenging claims by plaintiff “Noah Doe” and two Wyoming companies, ABC Company and XYZ Company. They argue they gained legal rights to the dormant Bitcoin after notifying the New York Police Department.
Motion Raises Key Questions for Bitcoin Ownership
In the filing, John Doe 33 argued that Bitcoin wallet addresses are not legal entities or people and therefore cannot be sued under New York law. He also said a court order cannot transfer ownership of Bitcoin because control of the assets depends on the private keys needed to access each wallet.
The lawsuit covers a wide range of dormant wallets, including addresses linked to Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto, early miners, the Mt. Gox hack, Casascius coins, and other unidentified holders.
According to Timechain Index founder Sani, the addresses collectively hold 3,791,121.17697938 BTC. He also noted that legal notices were sent to Pay-to-Public-Key-Hash (P2PKH) addresses even though most of the Bitcoin remains in older Pay-to-Public-Key (P2PK) wallets.
Galaxy Digital’s head of research, Alex Thorn, said the legal challenge appears to come from an actual wallet owner rather than an outside observer. According to Thorn, the wallet linked to John Doe 33 holds about 5,000 BTC that was received in April 2014 and has remained untouched for more than 12 years.
Separate data from Bitbo also shows that roughly 3.5 million BTC has not moved in more than a decade.
Global Crypto Enforcement Gains Momentum
The case comes as governments step up efforts to track and recover digital assets through the courts and law enforcement. Regulators and investigators are increasingly targeting cryptocurrency wallets tied to criminal activity while testing how existing laws apply to blockchain-based assets.
Recent actions reflect that broader trend. The U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned 134 cryptocurrency wallets linked to ISIS-K, while Tether froze funds held in 131 Tron addresses connected to the sanctions.
Separately, Ireland’s Criminal Assets Bureau, with support from Europol’s European Cybercrime Centre, recovered a third Bitcoin wallet linked to convicted criminal Clifton Collins. The latest recovery added another 500 BTC, bringing the total recovered to 1,500 BTC, although investigators have not disclosed how they gained access because the investigation is still ongoing.
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