$190 million may have gone missing from QuadrigaCX exchange, but that does not mean no one is keeping a close eye on the exchange’s cold store wallet. While that is done, a debate is currently ongoing about the possibility of funds being received by a cold store wallet whose private keys has allegedly gone missing, reports a media outlet on February 4.
Canada’s Largest Exchange Experiences Bad Turn Out of Events
QuadrigaCX, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in Canada has had a bad turn out of events since late last year. From battling a case in court with a financial institution to losing Gerald Cotten, the CEO of the company. Now, is the case of a missing $190 million which was stored in a cold wallet only the late CEO had access to.
However, not everyone has taken their word for it and as such, a Reddit user, Palhello has been monitoring the said wallet whose funds cannot be accessed to pay back investors. Palhello who put on his spyglass and researched has come to the conclusion that some transactions have been carried out on the cold wallet even after the exchange came forward to say that the funds are inaccessible.
Uncertainties as to Who to Believe
Now, who’s to believe, the words of a social media enthusiast or that of an exchange who claimed that within two weeks, customers would be able to withdraw? That aside, let’s take a quick look at what Palhello’s research may have revealed.
First, the user pointed out that four addresses made transactions to the supposed cold wallet. In a normal case scenario, a cold wallet should only be able to receive and spend funds using a private key or multi-signature key.
Palhello also said;
Any address that has input into the hot wallet are wallets that are fully in control of Quadriga (could also be an address that belongs to a Quadriga user whose private key belongs to Quadriga)
User Says Cold Wallet Are Unable to Receive Funds Without Keys
The Reddit user also noted that these addresses would not have been able to interact with the wallet if the private key was lost. He also stated that the four addresses were at one time or the other, controlled by the exchange.
Nevertheless, customers of the platform will have to rely on the expertise of the authorities to determine if this is an exit scam or everything has been spelt out as it is. The company has also requested for a stay of proceedings which will ensure that they do not face any lawsuits for the time being while they look for ways to recover their customers’ funds.