Cryptocurrency Exchange QuadrigaCX Goes Offline

Cryptocurrency exchange QuadrigaCX, which did not process payout requests of its clients for several months, has gone offline. The Canadian company, which had banking issues, had claimed last month that its founder passed away. On Monday, when QuadrigaCX went offline, it had put a banner saying that a system upgrade was going on. However, no time frame was given for the completion of the upgrade.

Furthermore, QuadrigaCX did not provide any clarification regarding the overall situation on its Twitter or Reddit pages. Users complained that they were facing issues in accessing those social media platforms throughout the day.

Additionally, the status message continues to change. Yesterday, at 21:07 UTC, the banner on the website said that “an upgrade is being performed on QuadrigaCX and we should be back online shortly.” Furthermore, the website asked apology for the inconvenience created. A later message, however, plainly states that the site has gone offline for maintenance.

Following an agreement with the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC), which froze the funds owned by QuadrigaCX, through social media platforms and private emails sent to clients, the exchange guaranteed to return funds soon.

However, Reddit messages indicate that clients still have issues in withdrawing their funds. On January 15, Aaron Matthews, interim CEO of QuadrigaCX sent an email to the clients saying that funds will be returned “within two weeks.” The deadline ends tomorrow and so far no progress has been made in that regard.

It should be noted that Jose Reyes, the founder and managing director of Billerfy, which endorses bank drafts on behalf of Quadriga, clarified at that time that there is no deadline regarding the funds repayment.

Reyes said “[N]o banks have the appetite to take the drafts so we are looking around for crypto-friendly banks.” That was one of the reasons for refraining from issuing any kind of dead line.

Based on a decree passed by the Supreme Court of British Columbia on the basis of a petition filed by Jennifer Robertson, widow of QuadrigaCX exchange founder Gerald Cotton and the administrator of his estate, the company was anticipated to conduct a shareholders’ meeting last Friday to elect new officers.

The petition has pointed out that Cotten’s death has resulted in lack of officers in the company. However, there is no clarity as to whether such a meeting happened and if so, its outcome.