Crypto-Exchange Says It Can’t Pay Investors Because Its C.E.O. Died, and He Had the Passwords | NYT

On a brighter note, the security model seems to work...

"A Canadian cryptocurrency exchange said it could not repay at least $250 million to clients after its chief executive died suddenly while visiting India. The company, Quadriga CX, said in court filings that the C.E.O., Gerald W. Cotten, was the only person who knew the security keys and passwords needed to access the funds. [...]

In an affidavit, his widow, Jennifer K. M. Robertson, wrote that her husband had run the business from an encrypted laptop, working mostly out of their home in Fall River, Nova Scotia. Ms. Robertson did not know the password or recovery key and could not find them written down anywhere “despite repeated and diligent searches,” she wrote.

Ms. Robertson said she also hired an expert to find the cryptocurrency in “cold wallets” stored offline, with little success.

While other crypto-exchanges have lost their clients’ money, this appears to be the first one that has said it actually lost the keys to its accounts."

Crypto-Exchange Says It Can’t Pay Investors Because Its C.E.O. Died, and He Had the Passwords | NYT