A high-stakes legal dispute involving an attorney named Ian R. Cohen has taken a new turn as he challenges the revival of a lawsuit targeting roughly 3.8 million Bitcoin, valued at around $238 billion. The case includes wallets linked to Bitcoin’s mysterious creator, Satoshi Nakamoto.
Cohen recently submitted a court rebuttal opposing efforts by plaintiff attorney David Lin to overturn a stay in a New York case. The lawsuit, initiated by anonymous parties identified as ABC Company, XYZ Company, and Noah Doe, argues that the wallets should be treated as abandoned property under state law.
The stay was granted earlier this month by Justice Kathy King after Cohen sought to participate as amicus counsel. A hearing regarding the amicus request is scheduled for July 14. In his latest filing, Cohen emphasized that the court imposed the stay on its own authority after reviewing the case, not simply at his behest.
At the heart of the matter is the plaintiffs’ assertion that long-inactive Bitcoin wallets qualify as abandoned assets, which could be transferred via court order. They claim the original owners can no longer access the funds due to an alleged technical flaw. Among the targeted addresses are those tied to Satoshi Nakamoto and the “1Feex” address, linked to Bitcoin stolen during the Mt. Gox breach.
Cohen has consistently challenged the legal foundation of the case. He argues that New York’s lost-property laws do not apply to self-custodied Bitcoin, that inactivity alone does not constitute abandonment, and that private keys are beyond New York court jurisdiction. His filing also highlights that the defendants are 39,069 pseudonymous addresses, making it unlikely for affected parties to appear in court. Lifting the stay, he warns, could lead to a default judgment against the wallets, threatening billions in property rights.
Additionally, Cohen points to recent blockchain activity as evidence that the wallets are not abandoned. Court documents identify addresses that have sent out transactions, indicating active control by their owners. Galaxy Digital’s research head, Alex Thorn, reported that 52 named addresses moved 34,335 BTC collectively, with 29 addresses transferring 12,302 BTC after receiving notice of the lawsuit.
The case has drawn criticism from other crypto figures. Ripple CTO Emeritus David Schwartz questioned how a New York court could claim jurisdiction over Bitcoin wallets with unknown owners spread across a decentralized network. He warned that the legal theory could result in people losing control of their crypto assets. Meanwhile, Binance founder Changpeng Zhao suggested that dormant wallets could be frozen during a transition to quantum-resistant cryptography if holders fail to move funds within a specified period, though any such move would require community consensus.