New York Court Delays Lawsuit Claiming Ownership of 40,000 Inactive Bitcoin Wallets
An anonymous group of plaintiffs has filed a lawsuit seeking ownership of 39,069 Bitcoin wallets that have been inactive for years, arguing that they are "abandoned assets" under New York state law. The total value of Bitcoin in these wallets is estimated to be hundreds of billions of dollars. The New York Supreme Court has ordered a temporary halt to the lawsuit and scheduled a hearing for July 14th to consider counterarguments from an independent attorney.
The attorney argues that applying lost property law to Bitcoin is fundamentally flawed, as inactive Bitcoin wallets are not necessarily abandoned; owners may still be storing their private keys in a safe place without needing to transact. This has been proven true, as some of the wallets unexpectedly began transacting shortly after the lawsuit was announced, indicating that the owners are still there and closely monitoring the situation.
