NY Court Pauses Default Judgment After Lawyer Argues 39,069 Bitcoin Wallets Were Not Abandoned

Each of these movements chips away at the central premise of the lawsuit: that these wallets were abandoned.

He then directed a cyber expert to insert OP_RETURN messages into each wallet directing holders to a webpage, where they had 90 days to demonstrate their wallets were not abandoned. Of 42,001 wallets initially identified, 424 took onchain action and were removed. The remaining 39,069, valued at roughly $293 billion at current market prices, became the basis for a declaratory judgment claim that Noah Doe and two Wyoming LLCs own them outright under New York’s lost-and-found property statute.

“Abandonment requires intentional relinquishment of ownership and an external act manifesting that intent,” Cohen wrote. Cohen’s amicus further states:

“Mere inactivity, no matter how prolonged, is not abandonment.”

He further challenged the suit’s due process foundation, arguing OP_RETURN messages and a global press release do not constitute constitutionally adequate notice, particularly for deceased holders, non-English speakers, and wallets using older address formats that may not receive such messages.

Acting Justice Emily Morales-Minerva recused herself on March 23, 2026, citing an ethical conflict with being directed to rule on a matter another justice in the same jurisdiction had already partially decided.

The court moved quickly. On June 5, 2026, Judge King issued a Decision and Order on Motion No. 001, characterized as an injunction and restraining order, and took action on Motion No. 004, Cohen’s amicus-related filing. The proceedings were stayed and any push toward a default judgment was halted pending further hearing.

The stay is significant because the defendant wallet addresses, served via OP_RETURN and press release, are unlikely to appear and contest the case. Without adversarial input, the plaintiffs’ theory risked proceeding unchecked toward an uncontested default. Cohen’s intervention changed that calculus.

Cohen noted that a New York state-court ownership declaration over assets potentially subject to Japanese civil rehabilitation proceedings and U.S. federal forfeiture interest would risk serious legal conflict. The court’s stay means the case now heads toward a hearing with those questions on the table.