Quadriga CryptoCurrency Boondoggle: it has everything, lost passwords, missing funds, cyrptocurrency intrigue, mysterious death in a faraway land.
Quadriga CryptoCurrency Boondoggle
Earlier this month several news agencies reported that more than $400,000 in Quadriga cryptocurrency was locked/lost in a cold wallet after it’s CEO died unexpectedly in India. The widow claimed that the CEO took the encryption password with him. This took place after the company was in a lawsuit with CIBC over payments.
Then another $250 million in cryptocurrency went missing according to the CBC. BBC News reported the missing amount as $180 million.
What can you learn from all this?
Password Manager Emergency Access
Use a password manager and give your loved ones or lawyer emergency access.
As more and more of our assets and critical accounts become digital it is so important to make sure your loved ones or trustee can access those accounts when you’re not able to. Something as simple as being able to pay your Hydro bill could be out of reach because your spouse handled the account online and you can’t access it if they’re not around.
Or your business partner can’t access your firm’s critical online accounts or cold wallets.
CryptoCurrency
It’s speculative investing at best. And some of the promises of quick riches border on science fiction. Economists from the New York Reserve say that bitcoin and other digital currencies are not worth all the hoopla.
One Calgary cryptomining expert said the Quadriga business model was “abysmally stupid” but he still believes in the growth of the technology.
He’s talking about blockchain which is the technology used by all the digital currencies.
Blockchain Busting
Blockchain technology is a solution looking for a problem.
An Australian government agency looked into what you could use blockchain for. They found that anything you could use blockchain for could be done with existing technology for less money. And further they recommended that it was not a good fit for government as the technology assumed anyone involved didn’t trust each other. They want their citizens to trust their government right down to the bits and bytes.
The agency did the study after being pressured by lots of blockchain vendors trying to sell the government on the technology.
At a recent conference, blockchain fanciers were told to “stop making sexy noises” and “get real”.
Talk to your financial adviser before buying into cryptocurrency, use a password manager and set up emergency access on it, and avoid the blockchain fool’s gold.
