• About Us
  • Contact Us
Account
GTB
  • Home
  • News
  • Premium
  • Business
  • Personal Finance
  • Lifestyle
    • Travel
    • Health
    • Retail/Fashion
  • Podcast
    • Business Chat
    • Retiring Richly
    • Sika Nkommo
  • Videos
  • Analysis/Features
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Premium
  • Business
  • Personal Finance
  • Lifestyle
    • Travel
    • Health
    • Retail/Fashion
  • Podcast
    • Business Chat
    • Retiring Richly
    • Sika Nkommo
  • Videos
  • Analysis/Features
No Result
View All Result
Account
Ghana Talks Business
No Result
View All Result

Quadriga: Cryptocurrency exchange founder’s death locks $140m

05/02/2019
Reading Time: 2 mins read
Quadriga_Canada's_largest_cryptocurrency
405
SHARES
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on WhatsApp

Canada’s largest cryptocurrency exchange is unable to access millions in digital currency following the sudden death of its founder.

Quadriga has filed for creditor protection and estimates that about C$180m ($137m; £105m) in cryptocurrency coins is missing.

It has not been able to locate or secure its cryptocurrency reserves since Gerald Cotten died in December.

Cotten, 30, had sole responsibility for handling the funds and coins.

In court documents filed with the Nova Scotia Supreme Court on 31 January, his widow Jennifer Robertson, says the laptop on which Cotten “carried out the companies’ business is encrypted and I do not know the password or recovery key”.

“Despite repeated and diligent searches, I have not been able to find them written down anywhere,” the affidavit states.

The company hired an investigator to see if any information could be retrieved but ongoing efforts have had only “limited success in recovering a few coins” and some information from Cotten’s computer and phone.

The company is also investigating whether some of the cryptocurrency could be secured on other exchanges, according to court files.

They say about 115,000 Quadriga users hold balances in their personal accounts in the form of cash obligations and cryptocurrency.

The company estimates it owes about C$250m ($190m; £145m) – including C$70m in hard currency.

The affidavit says the majority of the cryptocurrency was kept by Quadriga in a “cold wallet” or “cold storage”, which is located offline and used to secure cryptocurrency from hacking or theft.

Liquidity problems for the British Columbia-based company began in January 2018 when Canadian bank CIBC froze C$25.7m linked to its payment processor after the bank had difficulty determining who were the owners of the money.

Those problems have been compounded by Cotten’s passing.

The founder died unexpectedly due to complications with Crohn’s disease while travelling in India, according to court documents.

In a statement posted online last Thursday, Quadriga said it is working to address its “liquidity issues, which include attempting to locate and secure our very significant cryptocurrency reserves held in cold wallet”.

The company is due in court in Nova Scotia on Tuesday for a preliminary hearing on appointing firm Ernst and Young as an independent monitor to oversee the proceedings.

Credit: BBC

Previous Post

Meet Iddris Sandu the Ghanaian tech genius behind Uber, Instagram and Snapchat

Next Post

How much you might spend on food in February 2019

Related Posts

Central African Republic, ghanatalksbusiness.com

Why Bitcoin will see tighter regulation, as price hit historical highs

15/02/2021
Cryptocurrency fraud, ghanatalksbusiness.com

Cryptocurrency fraud on the rise with Bill Gates, Elon Musk, and Joe Bidden Twitter accounts hacked

17/07/2020
libra_facebook_cryptocurrency

Facebook launches a new cryptocurrency called Libra

18/06/2019
libra_facebook_cryptocurrency

Facebook plans June 18th cryptocurrency debut. Here’s what we know

09/06/2019
bitcoin_cash_bitcoin

Bitcoin nears $9,000 as it breaks through its highest level this year

27/05/2019
Cryptocurrencies companies in Africa

China says it wants to eliminate bitcoin mining

10/04/2019
Next Post
food prices to fall in July, ghanatalksbusiness.com

How much you might spend on food in February 2019

agricbusiness firms , ghanatalksbusiness.com

Agribusiness: Driving firm performance in Africa agriculture

  • About Us
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • Advertising
  • Contact Us

© 2023 Ghana Talks Business

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Premium
  • Business
  • Personal Finance
  • Lifestyle
    • Travel
    • Health
    • Retail/Fashion
  • Podcast
    • Business Chat
    • Retiring Richly
    • Sika Nkommo
  • Videos
  • Analysis/Features
  • Login

© 2023 Ghana Talks Business

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In