With the unexpected death of Gerald Cotten, CEO, and founder of Quadriga Fintech Solutions Corp., his widow Jennifer Robertson has found herself in the middle of a complicated legal battle. She is facing off in defense of her husband’s legacy against former Quadriga CX investors and customers. Robertson never thought this was going to be a simple process. She has admitted that she has little to no experience dealing with Bitcoin, let alone running a company. But what came as a surprise for her was the amount of blowback she is receiving.
Quadriga CX has recently been in a sticky situation. Since Cotten’s death, the company has not had access to its own Bitcoin reserves. Cotten was the only person who knew the password. Now, Robertson and the remaining staff of Quadriga are trying to fight for the survival of the company and its remaining assets. Over the past few weeks, the company has been dodging lawsuits from angry customers who want their money back.
Jennifer Robertson: Quadriga CX Scapegoat?
Stepping up as the captain of a sinking ship is never an easy task. Quadriga CX’s reputation seems to have taken a major hit. Many in the crypto community are questioning its integrity and fueling rumors of mismanagement. Brian Armstrong, CEO, and co-founder of Coinbase tweeted on February 21st that the company may have used Cotten’s death to hide funds.
Wanted to share a summary of what we believe happened to QuadrigaCX. We did our own internal research, including some blockchain analytics, to see if we could help. Important to note that this is just our best guess. Take it as *pure speculation*, nothing more.
— Brian Armstrong (@brian_armstrong) February 21, 2019
But what made Robertson speak out was hate she received from investors and clients. She stated Monday in an affidavit, “The remaining two directors, being me and Tom Beazley, have no significant experience in the cryptocurrency industry and no experience with an insolvent company. Further, the public attention my role as a director has brought is unwanted, and online commentary which I have reviewed has suggested that I, in particular, am trying to hide assets or am acting contrary to the best interests of the companies, which is not true”.
Essentially, Robertson believes she has become a scapegoat for the chaos her husband’s death has caused. Thus, Ms. Robertson has asked Peter Wedlake, one of the company’s senior vice presidents, to fill the role of a chief restructuring officer.
Extension of the Grace Period
Proceedings protecting Quadriga CX the crypto exchange service from lawsuits are about to expire. Thus, the company claims that it needs at least 45 to 60 days more to find its missing cryptocurrency.
In this battle of bad blood, it looks like Jennifer Robertson and Quadriga CX have one victory. Thanks to court-appointed monitor Ernst and Young, the currency exchange company received an order facilitating the transfer of fiat holdings by a third-party processor. This order also granted a Custodian of $778,000 CAD ($588,000 USD), which the company alleged it was owed in fees.
The Quadriga CX incident caused some crypto investors to be wary of exchange startups. In short, it seems that the episode may stick in the heads of crypto enthusiasts for a long time. It will take time for this incident’s impact to entirely subside. How long will it take for investors to fully trust exchange companies again? Will another Quadriga CX situation unfold in the future on a separate platform? The answers to these questions are uncertain, but may greatly impact the crypto market to come.
Originally published on 71Republic
