{"id":61444,"date":"2026-05-26T15:01:30","date_gmt":"2026-05-26T15:01:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/crypto-globe.com\/court-to-decide-who-owns-lost-bitcoins-worth-hundreds-of-billions-lawsuit-also-targets-wallets-linked-to-satoshi\/"},"modified":"2026-05-26T15:03:34","modified_gmt":"2026-05-26T15:03:34","slug":"court-to-decide-who-owns-lost-bitcoins-worth-hundreds-of-billions-lawsuit-also-targets-wallets-linked-to-satoshi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/crypto-globe.com\/en\/court-to-decide-who-owns-lost-bitcoins-worth-hundreds-of-billions-lawsuit-also-targets-wallets-linked-to-satoshi\/","title":{"rendered":"Court to decide who owns &#8220;lost&#8221; bitcoins worth hundreds of billions. Lawsuit also targets wallets linked to Satoshi"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>&#8220;Lost&#8221; bitcoins &#8211; An unusual legal dispute is unfolding in New York that tests the boundaries of cryptocurrency ownership. Plaintiffs claim that 39,069 long-term inactive bitcoin addresses represent abandoned property. The problem is, without private keys, they may never access the bitcoins anyway.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Table of Contents: <\/h2>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-aioseo-table-of-contents\"><ul><li><a class=\"aioseo-toc-item\" href=\"#aioseo-newyorska-zaloba-miri-na-neaktivni-bitcoinove-penezenky-3\">Newyorsk\u00e1 \u017ealoba m\u00ed\u0159\u00ed na neaktivn\u00ed bitcoinov\u00e9 pen\u011b\u017eenky<\/a><\/li><li><a class=\"aioseo-toc-item\" href=\"#aioseo-ve-hre-jsou-i-adresy-spojovane-se-satoshim-a-mt-goxem-7\">Ve h\u0159e jsou i adresy spojovan\u00e9 se Satoshim a Mt. Goxem<\/a><\/li><li><a class=\"aioseo-toc-item\" href=\"#aioseo-i-vyhra-u-soudu-by-mohla-byt-jen-symbolicka-10\">I v\u00fdhra u soudu by mohla b\u00fdt jen symbolick\u00e1<\/a><\/li><li><a class=\"aioseo-toc-item\" href=\"#aioseo-spor-ukazuje-jak-tezke-je-prevest-stare-pravo-na-kryptomeny-14\">Spor ukazuje, jak t\u011b\u017ek\u00e9 je p\u0159ev\u00e9st star\u00e9 pr\u00e1vo na kryptom\u011bny<\/a><\/li><li><a class=\"aioseo-toc-item\" href=\"#aioseo-bitcoin-zustava-majetkem-ktery-bez-klice-neodemknete-17\">Bitcoin z\u016fst\u00e1v\u00e1 majetkem, kter\u00fd bez kl\u00ed\u010de neodemknete<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n\n\n<h2 id=\"aioseo-newyorska-zaloba-miri-na-neaktivni-bitcoinove-penezenky-3\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">New York lawsuit targets inactive bitcoin wallets<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A New York court is set to address a case that could open one of the most peculiar questions in cryptocurrency law: can long-term inactive bitcoins be considered abandoned property?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"about:blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">The lawsuit was filed<\/a> on May 1, 2026 by a man operating under the name Noah Doe along with two Wyoming companies, ABC Company and XYZ Company. They are asking the court to recognize them as owners of 39,069 bitcoin addresses that they claim are long-term inactive and legally abandoned. They rely on New York rules for found property and claim they reported the addresses to the New York police. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\">Read also: <a href=\"https:\/\/crypto-globe.com\/en\/top-10-countries-in-the-world-cryptocurrency-adoption\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">TOP 10 countries with the fastest cryptocurrency adoption<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"aioseo-ve-hre-jsou-i-adresy-spojovane-se-satoshim-a-mt-goxem-7\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Addresses linked to Satoshi and Mt. Gox are also at stake<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"about:blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">According to available infor<\/a><a href=\"about:blank\">mation<\/a>, the 901-page lawsuit is said to include an address beginning with &#8220;12c6D,&#8221; which is associated with <a href=\"https:\/\/crypto-globe.com\/en\/the-best-books-about-bitcoin-editorial-ranking-of-titles-worth-reading\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Bitcoin<\/a> creator Satoshi Nakamoto, as well as the address &#8220;1Feex,&#8221; which is linked to the Mt. Gox exchange hack. In total, these addresses are said to hold approximately 3.7 million BTC worth around $285 billion. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The plaintiffs argue that these wallets can be compared to abandoned bank accounts. However, this is problematic with Bitcoin. The cryptocurrency network doesn&#8217;t operate based on a court stamp, but on who has the private key.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"aioseo-i-vyhra-u-soudu-by-mohla-byt-jen-symbolicka-10\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Even a court victory could be purely symbolic<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Experts <a href=\"about:blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">point out<\/a> that even if the court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, it might not mean anything in practice. The Bitcoin network has no mechanism to &#8220;transfer&#8221; coins to a new owner without the private key. The only exception would be a situation where the bitcoins were moved to a regulated exchange or to a custodian whom the court could compel to act. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Another weakness of the lawsuit is the very assumption of abandonment. The fact that bitcoins haven&#8217;t moved in years doesn&#8217;t mean they don&#8217;t have an owner. They could belong to long-term holders, people who have lost access keys, or deceased owners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\" id=\"aioseo-ctete-take-monero-kryptomena-ktera-chrani-vase-financni-soukromi\">Read also: <a href=\"https:\/\/crypto-globe.com\/en\/monero-cryptocurrency-that-protects-your-financial-privacy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Monero \u2013 Kryptom\u011bna, kter\u00e1 chr\u00e1n\u00ed va\u0161e finan\u010dn\u00ed soukrom\u00ed\">Monero \u2013 The cryptocurrency that protects your financial privacy<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"aioseo-spor-ukazuje-jak-tezke-je-prevest-stare-pravo-na-kryptomeny-14\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">The dispute shows how difficult it is to apply old law to cryptocurrencies<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The case also demonstrates how complex it is to apply traditional property law to decentralized <a href=\"https:\/\/crypto-globe.com\/en\/coinbase-introduces-embedded-wallets-built-in-wallets-for-developers-with-on-ramp-swap-and-rewards-technologies\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">technologies<\/a>. With a regular account, there is a bank, state, or administrator who can intervene based on a decision. With bitcoin, however, no central authority exists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"about:blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">According to data<\/a> from Bitbo, approximately 3.5 million BTC are currently inactive for more than ten years, and 6.6 million BTC haven&#8217;t moved for more than five years. However, this alone doesn&#8217;t indicate whether these are lost coins, forgotten wallets, or intentional long-term holding. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"aioseo-bitcoin-zustava-majetkem-ktery-bez-klice-neodemknete-17\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Bitcoin remains property you can&#8217;t unlock without a key<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The lawsuit may therefore be important mainly symbolically. The court may address the question of whether inactive cryptocurrencies can be legally designated as abandoned property. But it won&#8217;t change Bitcoin&#8217;s technical reality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For ordinary investors, the case is a reminder of the basic rule of <a href=\"https:\/\/trader-magazine.com\/cryptonews\/best-crypto-staking-platforms-where-to-put-your-crypto-to-work-and-what-to-watch-out-for\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">cryptocurrencies<\/a>: those who don&#8217;t have the private key don&#8217;t have real access to their bitcoins. And if the key is lost, often not even a court can help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\">Don&#8217;t miss: <a href=\"https:\/\/crypto-globe.com\/en\/madisonsix-the-path-to-cryptocurrencies-without-technical-baggage\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">MadisonSix<\/a><\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Lost&#8221; bitcoins &#8211; An unusual legal dispute is unfolding in New York that tests the boundaries of cryptocurrency ownership. Plaintiffs claim that 39,069 long-term inactive bitcoin addresses represent abandoned property. The problem is, without private keys, they may never access the bitcoins anyway. Table of Contents: New York lawsuit targets inactive bitcoin wallets A New [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":61438,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"yasr_overall_rating":0,"yasr_post_is_review":"","yasr_auto_insert_disabled":"","yasr_review_type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[162,15],"tags":[99,93],"class_list":["post-61444","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-crypto","category-kryptomeny","tag-bitcoin-en","tag-cryptocurrencies"],"aioseo_notices":[],"yasr_visitor_votes":{"stars_attributes":{"read_only":false,"span_bottom":false},"number_of_votes":0,"sum_votes":0},"aioseo_meta":{"seo_title":"Bitcoin - NY Lawsuit Targets 39K Inactive Bitcoin Wallets","meta_description":"A New York lawsuit claims 39,069 inactive bitcoin addresses worth $285B are abandoned property, testing the boundaries of cryptocurrency ownership law.","focus_keyword":"bitcoin"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/crypto-globe.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61444","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/crypto-globe.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/crypto-globe.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crypto-globe.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crypto-globe.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=61444"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/crypto-globe.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61444\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":61451,"href":"https:\/\/crypto-globe.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61444\/revisions\/61451"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crypto-globe.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/61438"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/crypto-globe.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=61444"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crypto-globe.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=61444"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crypto-globe.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=61444"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}