Long-dormant address breaks silence after New York service-of-process campaign
A Bitcoin address holding 35.55 BTC since March 2011 transferred 15 BTC to a new address on June 2, 2026, marking one of the first visible on-chain responses from a named defendant in a sweeping New York lawsuit targeting 39,069 dormant wallets worth approximately $285 billion.
The 1LwWt address, which received its coins at less than $1 per BTC in March 2011, moved the funds at 16:46 UTC in transaction b90755b, recorded in Bitcoin block 952,104. The wallet retained 20.55 BTC as change. At the time of movement, the 35.55 BTC held a market value of approximately $2.54 million.
The lawsuit was filed March 11, 2026, at New York County Supreme Court under index number 153119/2026 and amended May 1, 2026. Plaintiffs, led by pseudonymous claimant Noah Doe, seek legal ownership of the dormant wallets under New York Personal Property Law Article 7-B, the state’s lost-property statute. Noah Doe is positioned as a “finder” under abandoned-property doctrine. The plaintiffs are represented through assigned interests held by ABC Company and XYZ Company, both Wyoming LLCs.
The court authorized an unconventional service mechanism: on-chain notice delivered through OP_RETURN messages embedded in Bitcoin transactions. Salomon Brothers Strategic Advisors, a blockchain consultant for Noah Doe, broadcast 98 batches of dust transactions containing 546 satoshis each across Bitcoin blocks 950,446 to 950,576 during June-July 2025. The 1LwWt wallet was served with legal notice via OP_RETURN on July 31, 2025, triggering a 90-day response window.
The wallet movement occurred nearly seven months after the response window expired and roughly three months after the lawsuit was formally filed. The timing suggests the address holder may have interpreted the legal action as a material threat to dormant holdings.
“Apparently, they were not, in fact, abandoned,” Alex Thorn of Galaxy Research said, flagging the wallet movement. Galaxy’s analysis found that hundreds of wallets moved coins during the original notice campaign and were subsequently excluded from the final defendant list.
A separate movement occurred approximately 13 hours before the 1LwWt transfer. The 1CDSy wallet moved 20 BTC to a SegWit address, valued at approximately $1.48 million. The 1CDSy wallet does not appear to have been targeted by the Noah Doe notice campaign or named in the lawsuit.
The lawsuit targets approximately 3.8 million BTC across 39,069 addresses. The timing of these movements coincides with broader Bitcoin market pressure. The asset slid to $70,000 during a period marked by 10 consecutive spot ETF outflow sessions.
The legal basis for the court’s authorization of OP_RETURN service and whether such service constitutes binding notice remain unclear.
