Someone is trying to claim Satoshi's coins through a New York courtroom, and they just got their first real challenger.
An anonymous plaintiff "Noah Doe" filed a case in March claiming legal title over 39,069 dormant Bitcoin addresses holding ~3.8 million BTC.
His move was to flag the wallets as abandoned, send OP_RETURN messages giving holders 90 days to respond, then claim everything that stayed silent as "lost property." He valued each wallet under $10 to exploit a fast-track provision in New York law.
Now a respondent called "John Doe 33" has entered the case as an actual party, declaring they are "a natural human person" and "not a Bitcoin blockchain address, digital wallet, source code, or any other form of inanimate data."
Unlike the earlier amicus brief that froze the case, a respondent can cross-examine and force the plaintiff to prove their claim.
The blockchain is already undermining the case. Multiple "abandoned" addresses have moved coins since the filing, proving someone holds the keys.
Next hearing: July 14.
An anonymous plaintiff "Noah Doe" filed a case in March claiming legal title over 39,069 dormant Bitcoin addresses holding ~3.8 million BTC.
His move was to flag the wallets as abandoned, send OP_RETURN messages giving holders 90 days to respond, then claim everything that stayed silent as "lost property." He valued each wallet under $10 to exploit a fast-track provision in New York law.
Now a respondent called "John Doe 33" has entered the case as an actual party, declaring they are "a natural human person" and "not a Bitcoin blockchain address, digital wallet, source code, or any other form of inanimate data."
Unlike the earlier amicus brief that froze the case, a respondent can cross-examine and force the plaintiff to prove their claim.
The blockchain is already undermining the case. Multiple "abandoned" addresses have moved coins since the filing, proving someone holds the keys.
Next hearing: July 14.
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