Customers of Crypto Exchange May Be Out $190 Million; Dead CEO

Crypto exchange QuadrigaCX owes its customers $190 million and cannot access most of the funds, according to a court filing obtained by CoinDesk.

In a sworn affidavit filed Jan. 31 with the Nova Scotia Supreme Court, Jennifer Robertson, identified as the widow of QuadrigaCX founder Gerald Cotten, said the exchange owes its customers roughly $250 million CAD ($190 million) in both cryptocurrency and fiat.


She added that Cotten held “sole responsibility for handling the funds and coins,” and the remaining team members have had no luck accessing the exchange’s cold wallets since.

In other words, it appears he was the only person who knew the private keys to the wallets.

There is a possibility that some of Quadriga’s funds are being stored on other exchanges, though this has not been confirmed, she said.

Cotten reportedly died of Crohn’s disease in Jaipur, India in early December 2018. The exchange announced his death, however, only this month. A death certificate was included in the list of exhibits.

Curiously though, according to CoinDesk, users have been complaining about withdrawal issues and a lack of communication from QuadrigaCX’s team for months, with concerns exacerbated earlier this week when the website went down entirely for maintenance.

-RW