An anonymous individual in the United States has applied to a court to rule that Satoshi Nakamoto's Bitcoin is "unclaimed property," attempting to take possession of it.

June 1 Update: According to Galaxy Research, in March of this year, the New York State Supreme Court quietly accepted a lawsuit seeking to confirm ownership of over 3.7 million bitcoins (roughly $274 billion) tied to 39,069 crypto addresses—including entries linked to Bitcoin’s anonymous creator Satoshi Nakamoto. Those Nakamoto-related addresses total 21,744 holdings, containing 1.09 million bitcoins worth $83.7 billion at current market rates. The plaintiffs are Noah Doe (a pseudonym) and two undisclosed Wyoming limited liability companies. They are bringing a declaratory judgment action under Rule 3001 of New York’s Civil Practice Law and Rules, claiming under New York’s Abandoned Property Law (Section 7-B of the Personal Property Law) that they own these dormant wallets. At its essence, the case asserts that Bitcoin held in Nakamoto’s addresses (and many other "lost" bitcoin addresses) counts as abandoned property, entitling the plaintiffs to legal ownership because they "found" these cryptocurrencies. Between June 30, 2025, and July 10, 2025, the group sent a "disposition notice" to every identified address via the OP_RETURN protocol. Even if the plaintiffs win fully, they will only secure a court declaration—no private keys, so they will never be able to transfer any bitcoin from the addresses. However, Galaxy notes the real value of this New York ruling is its role as a "cloud on title": if these bitcoins ever surface on any regulated platform, Noah Doe can use this court document to challenge exchanges or custodians.