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  "map_content": "Lawyer wants Satoshi\u2019s anonymous \u2018finder\u2019 to drop the mask\r\n\r\nA New York attorney has asked a state judge to unmask an anonymous claimant who wants to take legal ownership of roughly 3.8 million BTC, including Satoshi Nakamoto\u2019s holdings.\r\nThe request landed in the New York State Courts Electronic Filing system a few weeks before an in-person hearing on July 14.\r\nSoon, a judge will have the ability to decide whether one of the boldest property claimants in crypto history \u2014 seeking ownership of near a quarter trillion dollars worth of BTC \u2014 may keep its mask on.\r\nThe claimant calls itself \u201cNoah Doe,\u201d an obvious play on the John and Jane Doe placeholder names for legal procedures. Alongside two unnamed Wyoming companies, listed as \u201cABC Company\u201d and \u201cXYZ Company,\u201d Doe sued in New York County Supreme Court.\r\nDoe wants to obtain legal title to approximately 39,000 supposedly \u201cdormant\u201d crypto wallets holding roughly 3.8 million BTC.\r\nAt Monday\u2019s BTC price near $64,500, that stash is worth approximately $245 billion. \r\n\r\nhttps://x.com/intangiblecoins/status/2068129266517025276\r\n\r\nThe $10 loophole\r\nDespite the enormous value based on today\u2019s BTC price, the plaintiffs pegged each wallet\u2019s value below $10.\r\nThat dollar amount is no accident. New York\u2019s lost property statute, Article 7-B of the Personal Property Law, can hand a finder a quicker path to legal title when a found item is worth under $10.\r\nFor this reason, Doe valued each wallet under $10, which might have been true in the past when the price of BTC was much lower.\r\nDisturbingly, New York law defines \u201clost property\u201d broadly.\r\nIndeed, according to New York Personal Property Law Article 7\u2011B, \u00a7 251(3), \u201cthe term \u2018lost property\u2019 includes lost or mislaid property. Abandoned property, waifs and treasure trove, and other property which is found, shall be presumed to be lost property and such presumption shall be conclusive unless it is established in an action or proceeding commenced within six months after the date of the finding that the property is not lost property.\u201d\r\nOn its face, that definition seems to favor Noah Doe. However, plenty of people disagree entirely.\r\n$10 claims and a quarter trillion dollars\r\nNew York attorney Ian Cohen is among those who disagree, filing an amicus brief on May 29 calling Doe\u2019s theory preposterous.\r\n\u201cA ruling accepting plaintiffs\u2019 theory could open the door to systematic exploitation of long-dormant bitcoin wallets\u2026 effectively creating a private industry of \u2018Bitcoin finders\u2019 operating under color of lost property law,\u201d Cohen wrote.\r\nProtos reached out to Cohen, who referred us to his filings, including his granted motion to appear as amicus curiae, and his June 19 response.\r\nBecause Doe wants to repossess the property of people who prefer to remain anonymous \u2014 such as Satoshi Nakamoto \u2014 they\u2019re unlikely to appear as defendants in court.\r\n\u201cAmicus curiae\u201d allows a lawyer or organization who isn\u2019t a party to the lawsuit, such as Cohen, to submit information to help the court decide.\r\nJudge Kathy King granted Cohen\u2019s request for amicus curiae and stayed the entire case pending the oral hearing on July 14. Cohen will participate in-person as amicus curiae.\r\nThe judge\u2019s stay order ended the plaintiffs\u2019 ideal outcome of a quiet, default judgment.\r\nBack in the courtroom on July 14\r\nPlaintiffs\u2019 lawyer, David Lin of Brooklyn firm Lewis & Lin, tried to vacate that stay, but as it stands, will probably appear on July 14 to represent Doe.\r\nAs amicus curiae, Cohen has been clear: \u201cIf you want a judge to hand you Satoshi\u2019s coins you should have to say your name out loud,\u201d he posted on X. \r\nAlthough Cohen is one of many people who\u2019d like Doe to unmask themselves, Cohen hasn\u2019t demanded that Doe personally appear, since Lin is technically allowed to represent his plaintiff.\r\nCohen has, however, asked Lin to justify the pseudonym. There should be a very good reason a party seeking hundreds of billions of dollars should get to use a fake name, Cohen argued.\r\nDefendants in Doe\u2019s action are approximately 39,000 wallet addresses. Each address received a \u201cdust\u201d transaction carrying an OP_RETURN output notice with a short blurb of text about the lawsuit. \r\nCohen called that method of legal service as indistinguishable from spam. \u201cThis is not service,\u201d he said. \u201cIt is a broadcast into a void.\u201d\r\nSatoshi Nakamoto\u2019s right to remain anonymous\r\nAnother problem with Doe\u2019s claim is that supposedly abandoned wallets keep waking up.\r\nGalaxy Research head Alex Thorn counted 52 named addresses that moved 34,335 BTC after the suit\u2019s initial filing. Of those, 29 shifted 12,302 BTC after an OP_RETURN messaging scheme occurred.\r\nThese movements certainly weaken the premise that owners ever meaningfully abandoned their wallets in the first place.\r\nThis OP_RETURN dusting campaign surfaced last year under the revived \u201cSalomon Brothers\u201d brand name. Protos has previously documented that scheme, which sent tiny amounts of BTC and text to old BTC wallets.\r\nRead more: BTC from 2011 moves after \u2018Salomon Brothers\u2019 repossession notice\r\nProtos wasn\u2019t able to easily verify whether the well-known Salomon Brothers actually published the messages.\r\nA legal victory for Doe wouldn\u2019t actually hand Doe private keys to the BTC, but it would grant legal title from the State of New York.\r\nThe court has scheduled oral arguments for July 14 at 60 Centre Street, in an open courtroom where members of the public may attend.",
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