Quadrigga: encrypted electronic money having lost 135 million dollars

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Facebook / Quadriga

Upon the death of its founder, Gerald Coutin, the founder of the Canadian currency suddenly encrypted, he took away all the secrets of Quadriga, who launched and managed this currency, which generates a total business turnover of $ 135 million. dollars. The founder of the motto has left tens of thousands of users and traders of QuadrangeX currency confused about the future of their investment deposits in this currency.

Metgox, one of the world's largest money-changers, shut down sharply in 2014 after 850,000 homeowners, valued at about $ 0.4 billion at the time.

The sudden event caused a collapse of emerging markets, but the crisis that hit the Japanese society was favorable to a Canadian company that launched a new encrypted currency.

"The company's presence in Canada has been well received by customers as they know where to invest their money," said Gerald Cotin, the founder of the Canadian encrypted currency, who died at the age of 30.

After five years of success, Cotin has passed away, causing confusion among thousands of users and traders in the marketplace because they did not have sufficient information about the future of their foreign currency deposits. in the currency. Death also prompted them to search for information about the digital QuadraxX.

"We do not know whether we will get our money back or not, and the situation is very uncertain," said Tong Zhao, one of the investors who has invested all his savings in the currency.

A Canadian court has decided to grant Quadriga, the operator of the encrypted FX trading platform of the same name, the right to issue a temporary bankruptcy to protect itself.

"We are making considerable efforts to identify and secure the location of our digital currency reserves," the company said in a statement after Cotin's death in recent weeks.

The Canadian company has invested 115,000 clients worth up to C $ 250 million, including C $ 70 million in traditional currency, and $ 180 to $ 190 million worth of encrypted currencies. Canadian, based on current market value.

Quadriga, although not being aware of the information up to now, said that the money was stored in a "cool wallet" (an offline electronic wallet) with information about the money. access known only as "cotin" to protect it from hacking and electronic theft.

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Reuters

Until now, all transactions of the Quadragex CC currency encrypted since the death of Cotin are still totally blocked.

Bernie Doyle, President and CEO of Revine Lab and Head of the Toronto Unit of the State Polytechnic Society, described the crisis as an "earthquake."

The world of digital currencies and encrypted assets lacks control, and the history of this type of asset is full of price volatility, electronic hacking and the lack of maximum consumer protection.

"It is really unfortunate that the economic system is suffering the consequences of a crisis in a business," said Doyle.

What happened to Quadrigga?

The documents filed by the Canadian courts on behalf of the company in January contained many interesting details about the company.

Quadraiga did not have a headquarters, employees or bank account, which made it a one-man business, Gerald Cotin, and his computer. Coutin ran the Canadian company encrypted in currency from his home in Fall River, Nova Scotia.

The company's founder used external contractors to do additional work, including making transactions and making payments.

Jennifer Robertson, the widow of Cotin, said that she had nothing to do with the work of her husband, who died December 9 in India because of Crohn's disease or an illness inflammatory bowel.

During her testimony, she added that she had searched for documents belonging to Quadriga at home and elsewhere, but to no avail. The computer used by the founder of the company is closed by a code and his wife does not have the password and can not recover it.

In addition, an investigator was hired to help retrieve all documents from the company, but his success in this task was limited.

It was reported that the company inadvertently diverted Petcone units, worth $ 500,000, which were stored in a cold wallet in early February.

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Supreme Court of Nova Scotia

But Quadraiga's problems began months earlier after facing a liquidity crisis.

The company's problems included the freezing of the Canadian bank, CIBC, five accounts related to Quadraiga payments after a dispute over the true owner of the content of these accounts, estimated at about 26 million Canadian dollars, the dispute returned before the courts.

The company said it had multi-million dollar bank transfers that it could not file because the banks had refused.

The testimony of Robertson, wife of the founder of the deceased company, showed the court images of mounds of bank wires placed on a stove in his kitchen.

Legal disputes with banks in Canada caused a serious liquidity crisis for the company, which caused investors' frustration in this encrypted currency after encountering major difficulties in dealing with delays and other obstacles that hindered them in the future. Access to their money.

Who is Gerald Cotten?

Graduated from his photographs and interviews with the press, Mr. Cotin graduated with a degree in Business Administration, preferring to wear loose clothing and jeans as business leaders.

Quadriga Coutin described him as a "visionary leader" confirming his death in India at the opening of a children's orphanage.

His friend, Alex Solkeld, has described him as a flexible and willing collaborator to leave his mark in the world of encrypted currency.

"I do not think anyone wants to say anything about it," he told the BBC.

He pointed out that his deceased friend had considered Betquin as a technology that would change the face of the world, because it is a currency that is not under the control of governments or banks, according to Solkeld, according to Cotin.

He confirmed that Coutin's death had hit many people of the lake for the reasons he had not put in place any other plan of action.

Solkeld said: "This sounds like a tragic series of unfortunate events that intertwine in a miserable way," Solkeld said.

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Reuters

Coutin's recent will also contains some references to his life and his strengths.

The founder of the Canadian company signed the will shortly before his visit to India, where he died, including the appointment of his wife Robertson to the values ​​of his estate, after he gave him the most of his property.

The document also provides details on the assets, including the Lexus car and a plane, as it was a passionate lover, a family member and some properties in the provinces of Nova Scotia and British Columbia. British.

Case against Quadriga

Many questioned Quadriga's story, saying Cotin had the only key to tens of millions of dollars worth of reserves.

Field experts analyzed the general transaction history of Quadrigga's financial portfolios, which were used to store, send and receive encrypted currency, which suggests that there may be no need for it. has no reserve for the cold wallet.

This has raised concerns that there could be more manipulation than mismanagement of business and an internal mess in the company following the death of Cotin.

Others have also mentioned the possibility that Coutin could invent the idea of ​​his death and that all this would be an "original" scam.

Among these rumors, Robertson's testimony included a copy of the death certificate issued by the funeral worker from Halifax, Nova Scotia.

The Jaipur hospital, where Coutin was being treated, gave a detailed account of the medical procedures he had undergone before his death.

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Courtesy of Alex Salkeld

According to his widow, she has received death threats and published "slanderous comments" on her website since Quadrigga publicly announced her problems.

An independent auditor has been appointed to oversee court proceedings. It currently has two computers and two computers.

What are the next steps?

Quadriga said in an online message to its users that it was seeking to protect creditors and preserve the future of the company.

According to court proceedings, Quadriga also examines whether some of the coded currencies can secure their position in other currencies and plans to sell the platform to face its debts.

A number of affected users, including Tong Zhao, are also seeking to hire lawyers and participate in court proceedings.

At the same time, the Ontario Securities Commission, the primary securities regulator, confirmed that it was considering "potential damage to investors in Ontario" because of Quadrega.