Millions in cryptocurrencies frozen after Canadian founder's death

[webfact]

Millions in cryptocurrencies frozen after Canadian founder's death

By Tyler Choi

 

Jewelry with the Bitcoin logo is seen on display at the Consensus 2018 blockchain technology conference in New York City, New York, U.S., May 16, 2018. REUTERS/Mike Segar

 

TORONTO (Reuters) - About C$180 million ($137.21 million) in cryptocurrencies have been frozen in the user accounts of Canadian digital platform Quadriga after the founder, the only person with the password to gain access, died suddenly in December.

 

Gerald Cotten died aged 30 from complications with Crohn's disease while volunteering at an orphanage in India, according to the Facebook page of Quadriga CX, which announced his death on Jan. 14.

 

The platform, which allows the trading of Bitcoin, Litecoin and Ethereum, filed for creditor protection in the Nova Scotia Supreme Court last week.

 

Quadriga has 363,000 registered users and owes a total of C$250 million to 115,000 affected users, according to an affidavit filed by Cotten's widow Jennifer Robertson on behalf of the company.

 

Robertson said in the affidavit that 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 C$180 million of coins in cold storage."

 

Robertson said she was not involved in 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.

 

Robertson said that she has consulted an expert who has had "limited success in recovering a few coins and some information" from Cotten's other computer and cell phones, but the majority remains untouched on his main computer.

 

Quadriga's troubles highlight the unique challenges of cryptocurrencies, Dean Skurka, vice president of rival platform Bitbuy.ca, said in an interview with the Canadian Broadcasting Corp.

 

"This really highlights the need for the government to take action and regulate cryptocurrency exchanges," Skurka said.

 

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.

 

(Reporting by Tyler Choi; Editing by Sonya Hepinstall)

 

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-02-05

[Nyezhov]

Im sure the NSA could get into his puter

[geriatrickid]

Very odd. If he was that ill, why was he in India opening an orphanage?

(He wasn't volunteering.)  Also quite a coincidence that he died  after  

the Canadian Bank CIBC froze US$28million of assets  held by Quadriga because the actual owners of the assets could not be identified.

Until his corpse is repatriated and his identity confirmed either by visual or standard DNA testing, I am not accepting the story of his death. Interesting that he reportedly died on December 9, yet no statement of repatriation of his remains etc.

The story stinks.

 

[sammieuk1]

I have a key to the highest bidder lets talk numbers ????

[JimmyJ]

Inexcusable.

 

He could have put half the password in a safe deposit box in one bank and the other half in a box in another company's bank.

 

And just left instructions in his will as to how to get the pw upon his death.

 

 

[edwinchester]

Have they tried 123456 yet?

[wombat]

how can you freeze something if you don't have the password ?
 

[CanuckThai]

Well now..... this is going to be painful.  I just tried accessing the Quadriga site, this was the page that came up.  No emails or warnings from Quadriga, between Jan 26 and now.   Where are my Tuity Fruity flavored Tums..............

 

 

 

 

Anyone know of someone needing a "dualie" engineer (elec and process/instrumentation)....and pays weekly or bi weekly?  555

[high plane drifter]

Ask  Mueller to investigate 

[dabhand]

Seems that others have suspicions on his passing. Murky in the extreme.

 

https://coinspice.io/news/deep-dive-video-the-truth-about-quadrigacx-millions-lost-paper-trail-gets-weird/

 

 

[CanuckThai]

2 hours ago, jabsjabs said:

I never used the exchange but I had an account and if I ever sold coins and wanted the fiat back in Canada, I was gunna give it a try. 

It was working well, back and forth easily, to and from LOS and Can.  The spreads are (were) juicy at certain times, easy to send "cash" in either direction at a nice +

[impulse]

10 hours ago, geriatrickid said:

Until his corpse is repatriated and his identity confirmed either by visual or standard DNA testing, I am not accepting the story of his death. Interesting that he reportedly died on December 9, yet no statement of repatriation of his remains etc.

The story stinks.

 

He's on a beach somewhere with Ken Lay and Aubrey McClendon.  

 

[Dumbastheycome]

UK  bookies  will be having a  maybe  field day ! 

[dabhand]

A further update article. No hard news but just indicating higher expectation of a scam / money laundering scheme.

https://www.investinblockchain.com/is-quadriga-ceo-actually-dead-or-140-million-exit-scam/

[dabhand]

And the cupboard was bare.... Specifically, the cold wallets have now been opened and found to be empty. Now, there's a surprise!!

https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-47454528

Seemingly the wallets had been cleaned out months before he 'died'. So, now the chase is no to obtain details of the trades, if that is possible.

This story certainly has legs.

https://www.investinblockchain.com/quadriga-update-wallet-empty-unused-since-april-2018-ernst-young/

[Starboyd]

I think pretty easy to fake a death certificate, or even fake your own death in a country like India if u have money.

[dabhand]

Surprised that the account holders have waited this long to check on whether or not his death was faked. Lucky he wasn't sent off via a funeral pyre beside the Ganges.....

 

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-50751899