Extract from Patrick Burke’s article “The Lost Treasure of Quadriga CX: A Teachable Moment”
The cryptocurrency world is still grappling to understand just what happened at Quadriga CX, the virtual currency exchange whose CEO who is alleged to have died without sharing the private keys to millions in customers’ cryptocurrency. Did the CEO really die, or is it a hoax attempting to separate Quadriga CX’s customers forever from their cryptocurrency?
In either case, it offers some solid lessons for virtual currency consumers. First, cryptocurrency investors should conduct at least some due diligence into whether their chosen exchange has proper safeguards in place to ensure the safe keeping of the virtual currency left in their custody. Second, for consumers not adept at conducting their own due diligence, would it be wiser to do their trading on platforms subject to government oversight on security and consumer protection? Lastly, what form of recourse is available when an exchange claims to have lost the private keys to the cryptocurrency they are holding on your behalf?
