A lawyer for Robertson did not respond to a request for comment.Ī lawyer for Quadriga directed WIRED to a statement posted on the company’s website, noting that Ernst & Young had been named as a monitor for the company. She also referred to threats against herself and the company’s director of operations. “There has been a significant amount of commentary on Reddit and other web based platforms about the state of Quadriga, Gerry’s death (including whether he is really dead) and missing coins,” she wrote. Robertson, Cotten’s widow, acknowledged the speculation in the affidavit. “I don’t think I will get the money back and I feel that I have little to no chance to get the truth or justice,” he said. He now believes the frozen funds could be part of a scam, or that the cryptocurrency the company claims to have in cold storage isn’t actually there. Some commentators-including Sirer-questioned whether Cotten had actually died.Ī Quadriga customer with CAD$12,640 ($9,606) stranded in the exchange said his ability to make large withdrawals had been curtailed starting last fall. On Reddit, r/QuadrigaCX was swiftly awash in reports of transactions between blockchain addresses theorized to contain the cold storage funds, while users identifying themselves as customers wondered when they would get their money out.
In the meantime, customers wondering if they’ll get their money are floating theories of their own. It’s possible, says Sirer, that the laptop and USB could eventually be cracked, or another copy of the keys will be found. In 2016, all of Quadriga’s directors, apart from Cotten, resigned. Those companies also have backups in case the keys (or the keyholders) are lost, though there are no regulations requiring it. Large crypto custodians, like exchanges and foundations, typically require multiple people, each with his or her own key, to access funds. That process didn’t initially spark alarm, Patryn said, because the company had insurance at the time, and its holdings were then relatively small. Michael Patryn, a cofounder of the company who left in 2016, said in a message to WIRED that control of the company’s cold storage crypto had always been centralized. Launched in 2013, Quadriga grew to be one of Canada’s largest exchanges. This content can also be viewed on the site it originates from.
On Tuesday, a Halifax judge granted Quadriga a 30-day stay while it searches for the lost crypto, temporarily shielding the company from lawsuits by customers, some of whom reportedly own millions that are now stranded. Robertson’s filing was first reported by Coindesk. The six-year-old company is now seeking protection from its creditors as it attempts to access the lost funds. The remainder is similarly frozen, in cash, by ongoing disputes with a bank and payment processors. In an unusual setup, Robertson said Cotten was the only person with the cryptographic keys to access $137 million of cryptocurrencies kept in “cold” storage to mitigate the risk of hacks. In an affidavit filed in the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia last week, Jennifer Robertson, widow of QuadrigaCX CEO Gerry Cotten, wrote that the company owes its customers $190 million, but can’t access the funds to pay them back. More than 100,000 cryptocurrency holders have learned a hard lesson in finality, after the 30-year-old CEO of a major Canadian exchange died, effectively freezing the company’s assets.
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