If this case sets a precedent, then in the future every cold wallet will have to guard against being “abandoned”—the moment an on-chain notification goes out, not transferring the funds is treated as an implicit abandonment; but if you transfer, that’s effectively proof that nothing was lost. Either way, the plaintiff can’t lose.

Crypto news, a lawsuit in New York that attempts to move approximately 39,069 dormant Bitcoin wallets, totaling approximately 3.7996 million BTC, classified as "abandoned property" has seen dramatic developments. A wallet that has not been active since March 2011 was listed as a defendant and served with legal notice via on-chain dust transaction, then on June 2nd transferred out 35.55 BTC, worth about $2.54 million. Galaxy Research research director Alex Thorn stated that the address clearly "has not been abandoned." The report said that even if the plaintiff Noah Doe obtains a default judgment, they will not acquire the private key, but it could create a legal defect in the rights to the related BTC. In the future, if the BTC enters a regulated exchange or custody service, the holder may be forced to publicly prove ownership.