Over US$137 million in cryptocurrency have been frozen in the user accounts of Canadian digital platform Quadriga after the founder, Gerald Cotten aged 30, the only person with the password to gain access, died suddenly in December.
According to the Facebook page of Quadriga CX, which announced Gerald Cotten had died from complications with Crohn’s disease on 09 Dec 2018 while in India where he was opening an orphanage.
https://www.quadrigacx.com/gerald-cottenIt is with a heavy heart that we announce the sudden passing of Gerald Cotten,…
Posted by Quadriga CX on Monday, January 14, 2019
Quadriga has 363,000 registered users and owes a total of US$190 million to 115,000 affected users, according to an affidavit filed by Cotten’s widow Jennifer Robertson on behalf of the company.
The platform, which allows the trading of Bitcoin, Ethereum and Litecoin, filed for creditor protection in the Nova Scotia Supreme Court last week.
Message from QuadrigaCXFebruary 5, 2019Dear Customers,Today an order for creditor protection in accordance with the…
Posted by Quadriga CX on Tuesday, February 5, 2019
Jennifer Robertson’s affidavit was found posted online on scribd.com website.
Jennifer Robertson said in the affidavit that Gerald Cotten’s main computer contained a “cold wallet” of cryptocurrencies, which is only accessible physically and not online, and his death left “in excess of US$137 million of coins in cold storage.”
Jennifer Robertson said she was not involved in Gerald Cotten’s business while he was alive and did not know the password or recovery key.
“Despite repeated and diligent searches, I have not been able to find them written down anywhere,” she said.
Jennifer Robertson said that she has consulted an expert who has had “limited success in recovering a few coins and some information” from Gerald Cotten’s other computer and cell phones, but the majority remains untouched on his main computer.
Jennifer Robertson said in her affidavit she has received online threats and “slanderous comments”, including questions about the nature of Cotten’s death, and whether he is really dead.
Dean Shurka, the vice president of rival platform Bitbuy.ca said in an interview that Quadriga’s troubles highlight the unique challenges of cryptocurrencies.
“This really highlights the need for the government to take action and regulate cryptocurrency exchanges,” said Dean Skurka.
From this incident, we at Kupocity learn that it is always important to make sure to leave some way for your loved ones and trusted ones to have your passwords and pins to your personal stuff in case anything unfortunate happens to you.
