Bitcoin Policy Institute Joins New York Case Contesting Claim On $293B In Dormant Bitcoin
The Bitcoin Policy Institute filed to intervene as a defendant in a New York lawsuit seeking to claim roughly 39,069 dormant self-custodied bitcoin addresses under a 1958 lost-and-found property law. A pseudonymous plaintiff argues that coins untouched for more than five years constitute found property, a legal theory that would expose an estimated 3.8 million bitcoin ($293B) to new ownership claims.
The intervention challenges the classification of blockchain addresses as abandoned property, a mechanism the institute warns would invalidate the foundational principle of long-term self-custody. White & Case attorneys Rachel Rodman and Prat Vallabhaneni are representing the institute. A court hearing on the matter is scheduled for July 14.
From the sources (3 posts)
@cointelegraph🇺🇸 UPDATE: Bitcoin Policy Institute joined the fight against the NYC case that would treat long-held self-custodied Bitcoin as abandoned. If coins are untouched for 5 years, are the abandoned or HODLed?
@tftc21The Bitcoin Policy Institute just filed to intervene as a defendant in a New York lawsuit that should concern every bitcoiner who self-custodies. A pseudonymous plaintiff "Noah Doe" is trying to use New York's 1958 lost-and-found property
@bitcoinpolicyLast night, the Bitcoin Policy Institute filed to intervene as a defendant in a New York lawsuit alleging that self-custodied bitcoin held for more than five years can be claimed by anyone who simply downloads your public address under New