The death of an exchange’s founder exposes cryptocurrencies’ biggest flaw



Supposedly, you can’t take anything with you when you die. Unfortunately though, for customers of QuadrigaCX, a Canadian cryptocurrency exchange, that’s not quite true. Sometimes, you can die with a priceless secret in tow.

When Gerald Cotten, Quadriga’s 30-year-old CEO, unexpectedly died from complications of Crohn’s disease this December, he took with him the passwords to unlock more than $140 million of cryptocurrency. Now, the exchange’s users are left in a bind.

The only person who knew the passwords to unlock their funds is dead. And because of the nature of cryptocurrencies, there’s virtually no way to recover the funds. Unless Cotten left an undiscovered trove of logins, his very-much-alive customers are permanently a lot poorer. (Unless, of course you’re among those speculating that Cotten’s death was an elaborate ruse, and he disappeared with the money.)


Reference: https://qz.com/1572000/quadrigas-founders-death-exposes-a-huge-flaw-in-cryptocurrency/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=qz-organic