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A Bitcoin address sitting untouched since 2011 suddenly sprang to life and shifted 40 BTC worth about $3.09 million on Sep. 4, and it happens to be one of the wallets caught up in a sprawling New York ownership case.
Blockchain analytics firm Galaxy Research flagged the transfer on X, noting the coins had been dormant for nearly 15 years before moving in block 965,330 on Sept. 3.
The wallet first received the funds on Nov. 5, 2011, when Bitcoin traded around $3. Galaxy pegged the unrealized gain at 2,571,899%.
A Bitcoin wallet at the center of a case
What makes the transaction more than a routine “whale awakening” is the address itself.
Galaxy tagged the sender as “Noah Doe #38097,” linking it to a lawsuit filed in New York County Supreme Court (Index No. 153119/2026).
As reported earlier, a pseudonymous plaintiffs known as “Noah Doe” and two Wyoming LLCs, filed a lawsuit in New York in March to seek legal title to 39,069 dormant addresses holding an estimated 3.7 million-3.8 million BTC, valued at approximately $293 billion back then.
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Bitcoin movement muddies the claim
The plaintiffs are leaning on New York’s Article 7-B lost-property law, arguing the wallets were effectively abandoned. But the recent transfer complicates that theory, since it proves someone still controls the private keys.
It wouldn’t be the first such wrinkle. Galaxy’s Alex Thorn revealed in July that the plaintiffs had already dropped 44 addresses that became active after the case began.
Critics, including attorney Ian Cohen and the Digital Chamber, argue that dormancy alone doesn’t indicate abandonment.
“A ruling accepting plaintiffs’ theory could open the door to systematic exploitation of long-dormant bitcoin wallets, effectively creating a private industry of ‘Bitcoin finders’ operating under color of lost property law,” Cohen argued in the court filing.
A New York judge has since paused the proceedings, and no coins have been awarded.
As per Decibel, Bitcoin was trading near $79,387 at the time of writing.
This story was originally published byTheStreeton Sep 4, 2026, where it first appeared in theMARKETSsection. Add TheStreet as aPreferred
Source: sg.finance.yahoo.com