QuadrigaCX, which had been Canada's largest cryptocurrency exchange prior to its sudden collapse, was seemingly a trustworthy storehouse of its customers' crypto wallets – its CEO, Gerry Cotten, also a seeming humanitarian who, prior to his alleged "passing away," was supposedly traveling in India where he was "opening an orphanage to provide a home and safe refuge for children in need."
But many are asking serious and pertinent questions following the news that Cotten was allegedly the only person at QuadrigaCX who possessed the "keys" to the company's crypto wallets, and that he somehow failed to share these keys with anyone else – even though he knew he was sick.
The official story is that Cotten let out his final breath after suffering "complications" associated with his "Crohn's disease," and that remaining employees at QuadrigaCX have had "no luck" gaining access to the hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of crypto coins that are now supposedly inaccessible by anyone.
"Since his death, 115,000 customers of the exchange have been struggling with Mt. Gox-style 'liquidity issues' as those trying to withdraw their funds have suddenly found it extremely difficult – if not impossible – to do so successfully," explains ZeroHedge.com.
"Finally, on Thursday, Quadriga's board released a statement announcing that it would be filing for bankruptcy protection. In the statement, the company said the filing was prompted by an inability 'to locate and secure our very significant cryptocurrency reserves held in cold wallets.'"
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So-called "hot" wallets are where crypto traders store their liquid crypto assets, while "cold storage" wallets function as long-term investment vaults – and it's these cold storage wallets that are said to be completely inaccessible now that Cotten is "dead."
But a real conspiracy angle comes into play when you consider the fact that what supposedly transpired with all of this is a bit too convenient for Quadriga's former owner and possibly other company executives, who very likely made off like bandits with their customers' money.
During a recent hearing before a Canadian Judge, Cotten's widow explained that her "deceased" husband had "sole responsibility for handling the funds and coins," which can't be proven – but that just so happens to allow for others, including Cotten if he's still alive, to access and steal the funds without ever being identified or traced.
Assuming Cotten really did die from complications related to Crohn's disease, it further makes little sense that he wouldn't have shared the crypto keys with at least one other person in the event that his health suddenly took a nosedive.
"On Quad's website they write they can't locate or access their cold wallets. The unstated suggestion is that the private keys were lost when the CEO died," a Reddit user contemplated.
"But that CEO wasn't hit by a car. Allegedly he died from 'complications related to Chron's Disease.' So while he was on his deathbed for all that time, he didn't once think to tell someone the private keys? Highly unlikely," this user added.
"I'd also love to know the name of the 'orphanage' he was supposedly building in India, and / or the name of even one independent witness who saw him building it."
Meanwhile, the mainstream media has continued to prop up the crypto scam, including the ever-popular Bitcoin, perpetuating the illusion that crypto assets are safe and a legitimate safe harbor for long-term wealth storage.
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