The cryptocurrency confusion surrounding the defunct virtual exchange, QuadrigaCX, is attracting a growing number of lawyers and accountants, suggesting they can sort it out.
Three teams of lawyers, more than a dozen in number, converged on a Halifax courtroom Wednesday, vying to represent 115,000 creditors who are owed $260 million in cryptocurrency and cash.
For some clients, such as James Isnor of Nova Scotia, the growing interest is a sign of hope.
READ MORE: Lawyers say QuadrigaCX is out of money
Isnor says he invested an inheritance, worth thousands of dollars, in bitcoin, through Quadriga.
“I’ve got a couple of coins and I’m interested in finding out what happened, basically, as a lot of people are,” Isnor said.
But there are new questions surrounding Quadriga, whose Nova Scotia founder, Gerald Cotten, reportedly died of complications from Crohn’s disease.
A report released this week from the accounting firm Ernst & Young says, “Quadriga inadvertently transferred 103 bitcoins valued at $468,675 to Quadriga cold wallets, which the company is currently unable to access.”
A court affidavit from Cotten’s widow, Jennifer Robertson, stated the overall stash of cryptocurrency and cash is tied up in cyberspace, because she doesn’t know the passwords to her late husband’s laptop.
WATCH: Investors missing millions after QuadrigaCX CEO dies
The mysterious transaction is another test of faith for investors, who are already unsure if they’ll ever get their money back.
“As of the time of the exchange going down, I had around $30,000, combined, of Canadian dollars and cryptocurrency on the exchange,” says Vancouver investor Julian Figueroa.
After factoring in legal costs, Figueroa says he won’t recover a penny.
Figueroa adds he still believes in cryptocurrency, but has doubts about the authorities currently tasked with solving the Quadriga quandary.
“It’s really baffling how nobody who’s actually versed in the cryptocurrency space has their hands on this case,” said Figueroa.
READ MORE: Observers ‘gobsmacked’ at new revelation about lost QuadrigaCX currency
Ernst and Young, which the Nova Scotia Supreme Court appointed as a monitor for Quadriga’s court protection against creditors, says it has secured a total of 11 laptops, cell phones and usb devices used by Cotten.
The firm says it is working to gain access to the assets that are still off-limits.
Some investors, including Figueroa, are calling for a police investigation to check for possible criminal behaviour.
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