A Satoshi-era wallet holding 75 BTC▼$67,130.00 since 2011 moved roughly $5 million in bitcoin on Thursday evening, months after lawyers sent it a tiny court-notice payment. The address is among 39,069 targeted in a New York lawsuit seeking ownership of dormant bitcoin.

The transfer swept the legal-notice payment into the same transaction as the original coins, leaving the old address empty. It shows someone can still spend the funds, but does not identify the holder or establish whether the lawsuit prompted the move.

75 BTC Leaves the Satoshi-Era Wallet That Held It Since 2011

The wallet sent its bitcoin to a new address, according to CoinDesk. The coins remained at that destination as of Friday evening.

Read More: Two Dormant Bitcoin Addresses Activate With $6.9M After 16 Years

The movement challenges the premise that prolonged inactivity means the bitcoin has been abandoned. In this case, someone retained the ability to authorize a transfer despite the original coins remaining untouched since 2011.

39,069 Addresses Face an Abandoned-Property Claim

A plaintiff identified as Noah Doe and two Wyoming companies filed the lawsuit in New York. They ask the court to declare them owners of bitcoin held across 39,069 addresses, arguing that wallets dormant for at least five years contain lost property claimable under New York law.

The case, described as a $260 billion Bitcoin lawsuit, targets roughly 3.8 million BTC. That larger pool includes coins attributed to Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto. The plaintiffs’ ownership argument rests on treating the wallets’ inactivity as abandonment.

The newly active wallet appears as defendant No. 3,419 in the amended complaint. Its transfer introduces a concrete challenge to applying that argument to this particular holding: the coins remain accessible to someone with the keys.

546 Satoshis Carried the Court Notice

On May 22, the address received 546 satoshis through a transaction carrying the message “COURT-ORDERED LEGAL NOTICE” and a link to the plaintiffs’ notice page. The payment was worth less than 40 cents at recent prices.

The court authorized this method of notifying unidentified holders because their identities were unknown. Lawyers sent tiny bitcoin payments carrying messages that directed recipients to the legal papers, allowing notice to reach the addresses named in the case.

Six Inputs Went Into One Outgoing Payment

Thursday’s transaction combined six inputs into one payment. It spent the original 75 BTC together with the 546-satoshi court notice and other small deposits accumulated at the address.

One additional payment carried an owner notice dated July 2025 from Salomon Brothers Strategic Advisors. The plaintiffs hired the consultant to contact wallet holders. Both that notice payment and the court-notice payment moved with the older coins.

15 BTC Moved From Another Named Dormant Bitcoin Wallet

Another address listed in the lawsuit had already become active. In June, a wallet holding 35.55 BTC since 2011 spent 15 BTC and returned the remainder to itself as change.

The case also faces a practical limit beyond the ownership argument: a ruling for the plaintiffs would not give them the private keys required to spend the bitcoin. The complaint says a hired expert valued the “found wallets” at less than $10 because recovering their contents was uncertain.

For the newly active 75 BTC holding, the next development to watch is whether the coins move again from their destination. For the plaintiffs, obtaining a declaration of ownership and gaining access to the funds remain separate hurdles.

FAQ

When did the wallet last move its original bitcoin before this transfer?

The original holding had stayed untouched since 2011. Thursday evening’s transaction ended that dormancy, although the address had received small incoming payments in the meantime.

How much bitcoin did the wallet hold when it moved?

The main holding was 75 BTC, worth roughly $5 million at the time described in the account. The outgoing payment also included small deposits, including the legal notice sent on May 22.

Why was the wallet named in the lawsuit?

The plaintiffs seek to claim bitcoin in addresses inactive for at least five years under their interpretation of New York lost-property law. This wallet was designated defendant No. 3,419 in their amended complaint.

What message did the 546-satoshi payment carry?

It carried the words “COURT-ORDERED LEGAL NOTICE” and a link to the plaintiffs’ notice page. The court permitted tiny bitcoin transactions to serve as a way to notify unidentified holders about the case.

Can the plaintiffs spend the bitcoin if they win the case?

A favorable ownership ruling alone would not supply the private keys needed to authorize transactions. The complaint acknowledges the recovery problem through an expert’s valuation of the “found wallets” at less than $10.

This article is for information only and is not financial advice.

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