Crypto exchange founder dies, taking the password (and $190M) with him

A cryptocurrency exchange can't access the millions of dollars it owes investors.

Abrar Al-Heeti Technology Reporter

Abrar Al-Heeti is a technology reporter for CNET, with an interest in phones, streaming, internet trends, entertainment, pop culture and digital accessibility. She's also worked for CNET's video, culture and news teams. She graduated with bachelor's and master's degrees in journalism from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Though Illinois is home, she now loves San Francisco -- steep inclines and all.

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Abrar Al-Heeti

Feb. 4, 2019 4:32 p.m. PT

Bitcoin — Thierry Chesnot / Getty Images

Investors were locked out of $190 million in cryptocurrency assets after the founder of a crypto exchange died without sharing the password to a laptop that contained the business's records, according to CoinDesk.

Gerald Cotten, co-founder and CEO of QuadrigaCX, died in December due to complications of Crohn's disease, the company said in a Facebook post last month. QuadrigaCX, which filed for bankruptcy protection in the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia on Jan. 31, was designed to "simplify the process of buying and selling" the bitcoin cryptocurrency, according to a cached version of its website.

QuadrigaCX owes customers around $190 million in cryptocurrency and cash, Jennifer Robertson, Cotten's widow, said in a sworn affidavit filed last week. Robertson said Cotten held "sole responsibility for handling the funds and coins," according to the document.

Robertson said she doesn't have business records for QuadrigaCX or its affiliated companies, and she doesn't know the password or recovery key for Cotten's encrypted laptop. On its website, QuadrigaCX said it's been working for weeks to locate and secure the cryptocurrency reserves, but hasn't succeeded.

QuadrigaCX didn't immediately respond to a request for comment sent to its Twitter account. A message left at a telephone number listed on the archived version of the company's website wasn't immediately returned. An email sent to its support team also wasn't immediately returned.

You can read Robertson's affidavit here:

Affidavit of Jennifer Rober... by on Scribd