Several Bitcoin wallets associated with the now-defunct Canadian cryptocurrency exchange QuadrigaCX have transferred funds after three years of inactivity. Here are the details of the transaction movements…
Accounts for the cryptocurrency exchange QuadrigaCX are on the move
Several accounts have taken action for the QuadrigaCX, which has been disabled for a while. ZachXBT, who describes himself as a crypto detective, reported on fund movements today. The addresses in question moved funds on Friday, December 16 and Saturday, December 17. ZachXBT estimated that 104 BTC ($1.7 million) was moved. Of this amount, 69 BTC ($1.1 million) was sent to Wasabi, a Bitcoin wallet with coin mixing (mixer) service. Bitcoin addresses that transfer funds include:
- 1ECUQLuioJbFZAQchcZq9pggd4EwcpuANe
- 1J9Fqc3TicNoy1Y7tgmhQznWrP5AVLXj9R
- 1MhgmGaHwLAvvKVyFvy6zy9pRQFXaxwE9M
- 1HyYMMCdCcHnfjwMW2jE4cv9qVkVDFUzVa
- 1JPtxSGoekZfLQeYAWkbhBhkr2VEDADHZB
The four addresses listed above have not moved money since February 2019 – close to QuadrigaCX’s bankruptcy proceedings and claim for creditor protection. An address transferred funds later, in August 2020. The above addresses were first linked to QuadrigaCX in 2019.
Who made the transfer?
At that time, QuadrigaCX’s bankruptcy trustee, Ernst and Young, accidentally sent 103 BTC to a QuadrigaCX address that he could not access. This fact was made public, and the crypto community quickly identified which address did the transaction, along with the four associated addresses that likely belonged to QuadrigaCX. QuadrigaCX’s bankruptcy committee said today that Ernst and Young did not move the affected balances this weekend and that investigators “are aware that Quadriga funds are moving.” Ernst and Young did not comment on the matter.
It is not yet clear who might be responsible for the money transfer. QuadrigaCX CEO Gerald Cotten is said to be responsible for protecting the exchange’s private keys, which are supposedly stored in an unknown bank vault. However, Cotten was reported to have died in 2018 and therefore could not carry the coin. Anyone with a copy of the keys or knowledge of that box could have transferred funds. Many skeptics argue that Cotten fabricated his own death, raising the possibility that Cotten was responsible for the funding movements this weekend.
