Bitcoin Lawsuit Targeting Satoshi Nakamoto’s BTC Hits Major Setback After Wallet Activity Emerges

A controversial lawsuit seeking ownership of billions of dollars in early-mined Bitcoin, including wallets believed to belong to Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto, has suffered a significant setback after blockchain data challenged its core claims.

According to Alex Thorn, head of firmwide research at Galaxy, the anonymous plaintiffs behind the so-called "abandoned Bitcoin" lawsuit have quietly removed 44 of the original 39,069 wallet addresses named as defendants. The decision came after on-chain evidence showed that every one of those wallets had recorded transactions after the lawsuit was filed, undermining the argument that the assets were abandoned.

The lawsuit was filed in the New York County Supreme Court by a pseudonymous individual identified as "Noah Doe" along with two Wyoming-based entities. It seeks to claim legal ownership of more than 3.7 million BTC—estimated to be worth about $274 billion—by invoking New York's unusual lost-and-found property laws.

The 44 dismissed wallet addresses alone held approximately 21,443 BTC, valued at around $1.37 billion when the case began. Since then, those addresses have moved a combined 46,334 BTC on-chain. One of the largest wallets in the group contained roughly 2,100 BTC but processed more than 20,400 BTC through 10 separate transactions between March and July, demonstrating continued activity.

Thorn argued that the latest developments further weaken the lawsuit, noting there is no evidence the targeted wallets were ever abandoned. Instead, he suggested the blockchain data shows the plaintiffs' claims lack factual support.

The legal filing also relied on an unnamed expert who argued the wallets' "as-is" value was less than $10 because recovering private keys was uncertain. However, the plaintiffs acknowledged their automated system cannot reliably determine whether a Bitcoin wallet has actually been abandoned.

Although 39,025 wallet addresses—including thousands of early "Patoshi" wallets widely linked to Satoshi Nakamoto's estimated 1.1 million BTC holdings—remain listed in the case, crypto analysts increasingly believe the lawsuit has little chance of succeeding as evidence continues to contradict its central argument.