EY Says It Is 'Aware' of 'Unauthorized' Quadriga Wallet Transfers

More than 100 BTC moved out of Quadriga-linked wallets over the weekend.

AccessTimeIconDec 20, 2022 at 11:14 p.m. UTC
Updated Dec 23, 2022 at 3:12 a.m. UTC
Christy Goldsmith Romero
Commissioner
U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission
Explore the policy fallout from the 2022 market crash, the advance of CBDCs and more.
Christy Goldsmith Romero
Commissioner
U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission
Consensus 2023 Logo
Explore the policy fallout from the 2022 market crash, the advance of CBDCs and more.

Nikhilesh De is CoinDesk's managing editor for global policy and regulation. He owns marginal amounts of bitcoin and ether.

Christy Goldsmith Romero
Commissioner
U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission
Explore the policy fallout from the 2022 market crash, the advance of CBDCs and more.
Christy Goldsmith Romero
Commissioner
U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission
Consensus 2023 Logo
Explore the policy fallout from the 2022 market crash, the advance of CBDCs and more.

Ernst & Young said it has "become aware" that bitcoin (BTC) that'd been sitting QuadrigaCX's cold wallets has been moved elsewhere, according to a statement Tuesday.

The company, which is acting as the bankruptcy trustee for the defunct Canadian trading platform, made the announcement four days after more than 100 BTC moved out of the wallets, which the company said Quadriga did not have access to. CoinDesk reported on Monday that EY had not initiated the transactions, which EY confirmed in its Tuesday statement.

"Ernst & Young Inc. acting in its capacity as court appointed Monitor and subsequently as Trustee in Bankruptcy worked with management and others to recover the bitcoin transferred to these wallets," the statement said. "However, the private keys associated with the cold wallets have not been located despite the detailed review."

Miller Thomson, the Canadian law firm acting as the representative counsel for Quadriga's creditors, published a similar statement on its own website.

EY first announced in early February 2019 that it had "inadvertently" sent the bitcoin to the wallets, which it was not able to access at the time.

"The Trustee and Representative Counsel are actively investigating the unauthorized transfers for the benefit of the Estate," Miller Thomson's statement said.

In addition to five addresses first identified by CoinDesk in 2019, EY listed a sixth address, which does not appear to have seen any activity since 2018, well before Quadriga collapsed.

DISCLOSURE

Please note that our privacy policy, terms of use, cookies, and do not sell my personal information has been updated.

The leader in news and information on cryptocurrency, digital assets and the future of money, CoinDesk is a media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk is an independent operating subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which invests in cryptocurrencies and blockchain startups. As part of their compensation, certain CoinDesk employees, including editorial employees, may receive exposure to DCG equity in the form of stock appreciation rights, which vest over a multi-year period. CoinDesk journalists are not allowed to purchase stock outright in DCG.

CoinDesk - Unknown

Nikhilesh De is CoinDesk's managing editor for global policy and regulation. He owns marginal amounts of bitcoin and ether.


Learn more about Consensus 2023, CoinDesk’s longest-running and most influential event that brings together all sides of crypto, blockchain and Web3. Head to consensus.coindesk.com to register and buy your pass now.


CoinDesk - Unknown

Nikhilesh De is CoinDesk's managing editor for global policy and regulation. He owns marginal amounts of bitcoin and ether.