Bitcoin Policy Institute Seeks to Join New York Case Targeting 39,069 Dormant Bitcoin Addresses

The Bitcoin Policy Institute (BPI) has asked a New York court for permission to intervene in a lawsuit in which anonymous plaintiffs are attempting to obtain legal title to 39,069 allegedly abandoned Bitcoin wallets. BPI argues the case rests on faulty legal and technical premises and warns that a ruling for the plaintiffs could weaken the property rights of Bitcoin holders, including long-term owners who intentionally leave coins unmoved. The case, filed in March 2026, was brought by a pseudonymous plaintiff using the name \u0022Noah Doe\u0022 alongside two Wyoming entities to which he assigned rights. The complaint seeks control of 39,069 dormant Bitcoin addresses and claims the wallets contain roughly 3.7 million BTC, valued at about $237 billion at current market prices. The filing also asserts that some addresses are linked to Satoshi Nakamoto. According to the complaint, the plaintiffs identified the addresses with a custom algorithm, provided the list to the New York City Police Department on USB drives, and later sent onchain OP_RETURN notices to the targeted addresses. They argue the wallets should be treated as abandoned property under New York law, allowing them to claim ownership as finders. BPI counters that inactivity is not proof of abandonment, noting that many Bitcoin owners deliberately hold assets for years without moving them. The Washington-based nonprofit also argues that publicly observable wallet addresses cannot be \u0022found\u0022 in the traditional legal sense, and that ownership of an address is distinct from ownership of the Bitcoin associated with it. BPI adds that New York\u0027s lost-property framework was built for physical items, not digital assets, and says a plaintiff victory could deter self-custody by pressuring users to periodically move funds or rely on custodians. Separately, Galaxy Digital\u0027s Head of Firmwide Research, Alex Thorn, said in a recent report that nearly all of the addresses cited in the case overlap with the 2025 dusting campaign and with wallets Craig Wright previously claimed to control in other litigation. Wright, an Australian computer scientist who has asserted he is Bitcoin\u0027s creator, was found in contempt of a UK court in late 2024 for continuing those claims and pursuing Bitcoin-related intellectual-property lawsuits despite a judgment rejecting them. He received a 12-month prison sentence suspended for two years. Thorn said the lawsuit contains significant legal and factual weaknesses, including questionable valuation claims, addresses linked to stolen funds and burn wallets, a potentially fictitious process server, and disputed anonymity surrounding the corporate plaintiffs. He added that even if the plaintiffs prevail, they would likely obtain only a court declaration rather than direct control of the Bitcoin, limiting the practical upside to potential leverage over exchanges if the coins ever move.