A court-ordered lawyer will get the encrypted laptop of recently deceased CEO of major Canadian crypto exchange QuadrigaCX Gerald Cotten, Canadian broadcast network CBC reports Tuesday, Feb. 5.
According to CBC, the laptop that might provide access to $190 million of QuadrigaCX customer funds will be given to a monitor — an independent third party who is appointed by the court to monitor the company's operations during bankruptcy procedures. According to Jack Julian, CBC's reporter who is attending the hearing in Nova Scotia’s court today, Feb. 5, the laptop was previously held by QuadrigaCX representatives.
As the assets were stored in a cold wallet, the court believes that the QuadrigaCX case is not a typical bankruptcy. The creditors might consider changing the jurisdiction to proceed with the case, Julian writes in his Twitter, citing the monitor.
CBC’s reporter also adds that QuadrigaCX has asked for a 30-day stay of proceedings — which will end on Mar. 7 — to search for the $190 million that is apparently inaccesible following Cotten's death. In case the keys are not found, the lawyers representing QuadrigaCX are considering selling the company in order to satisfy the debts.
Canadian cryptocurrency exchange QuadrigaCX has faced financial difficulty since its CEO Gerald Cotten reportedly died of complications from Crohn’s disease in December 2018.
As some of the customers have expressed their concerns about Cotten’s death, Coindesk has recently published a death certificate, issued by the Government of Rajasthan’s Directorate of Economics and Statistics, which was obtained from an informed source. It states that Gerald William Cotten died on Dec. 9, and Jennifer Robertson is mentioned as his widow.
According to a January affidavit filed by Cotten’s wife, the exchange apparently has no access to its wallets, and the CEO had not left evidence of passwords. The reported number of users affected is 115,000, with around $250 million CAD ($190 million USD) in cryptocurrency and fiat currency lost.