Attorney Ian R. Cohen says recent on-chain transfers from targeted wallets undermine the claim that roughly 3.8 million Bitcoin, including addresses linked to Satoshi Nakamoto, were abandoned.
A lawsuit by two anonymous Wyoming companies seeking legal ownership of 39,069 long-dormant Bitcoin addresses remains paused as attorney Ian R. Cohen argues that recent on-chain activity undercuts the case's central claim. The disputed wallets are described as holding roughly 3.799 million Bitcoin, including addresses linked to Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto. Court filings and blockchain analysis cited in the dispute say 52 of the targeted addresses moved about 34,335 Bitcoin worth roughly $2.48 billion, while Galaxy Digital found that 29 of those addresses transferred 12,302 Bitcoin after they were officially served. Cohen argues that dormant self-custodied Bitcoin cannot be treated as abandoned property under New York law and that private-key control remains the key indicator of ownership, a position that helped lead Justice Kathy King to stay the proceedings on June 4. The latest exchanges came after plaintiffs' lawyer David Lin moved on June 18 to vacate or narrow the stay, and Cohen responded that lifting it would remove the only adversarial check in a case seeking potential title to one of the largest troves of Bitcoin ever targeted in court.