Quadriga cryptocurrency exchange founder filed will 12 days before he died

Gerald Cotten, the Canadian behind cryptocurrency exchange Quadriga CX, filed a will 12 days before his death listing substantial assets, according to court documents.

Cotten, whose sudden death left C$190 million (US$145 million) in bitcoin and other digital assets protected by his passwords unretrievable, signed his last will and testament on November 27, 2018. He left all his assets to his wife, Jennifer Robertson, and made her the executor to his estate, the documents show.

Nova Scotia Supreme Court Justice Michael Wood granted Quadriga a 30-day stay on Tuesday in a bid to stop any lawsuits from proceeding against the company at this time, the Canadian Press reported. The Vancouver-based firm was also granted protection from creditors.

The exchange, launched in December 2013, allowed users to deposit cash or cryptocurrency through its online trading platform, storing the digital coins on blockchain ledgers that are accessible only by an immutable alphanumeric code. The company had 363,000 registered users, of which 92,000 have account balances owing to them in cash or cryptocurrencies, according to court filings. Cotten was the sole officer and director.

Cotten died December 9 of complications due to Crohn’s disease in Jaipur, India, according to Robertson’s affidavit and a statement of death from J.A. Snow Funeral Home in Halifax, dated December 12. He was 30. The couple, who lived in the Halifax suburb of Fall River in Nova Scotia, did not have any children.