Creditors of the defunct Canadian cryptocurrency exchange QuadrigaCX are set to receive an interim dividend of 13% of their total claims, according to a notice from the exchange’s bankruptcy trustee, Ernst & Young (EY). The notice states that 305.6 million CDN ($223 million) worth of claims have been made by 17,648 creditors, with 15,356 creditors owed between $0 to $10,000 and 1,784 creditors owed between $10,000 and $49,999. Only 15 creditors are owed more than $1 million, with the Canada Revenue Agency owed 11.7 million CDN in back taxes from 2016 to 2018.
QuadrigaCX was once one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in Canada but became insolvent in early 2019 after its co-founder and CEO, Gerald Cotten, died in India. The exchange’s former users mostly held cryptocurrency assets at the time of the firm’s collapse. Still, their claimed holdings were converted into the monetary value of the asset as of April 15 of that year. For example, if a user held 1 Bitcoin valued at $26,782 at the time, they will eventually receive 6,739 CDN ($4,933), with 13% of that amount to be paid as an interim dividend.
EY has said that the interim dividend will be paid to each creditor with a proven claim, less the levy amount payable to the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act. The remaining funds will be held as a reserve for future disbursements related to the bankruptcy administration, and final distribution will be made later.
While it has yet to be specified when the interim dividends will be distributed, Miller Thomson, the law firm representing the creditors, has suggested that it will happen over the next few weeks. This news will be welcomed by QuadrigaCX’s creditors, who have been waiting for over two years to recover their lost funds. Despite the relatively small percentage of their total claims being returned, any progress towards resolving the QuadrigaCX bankruptcy will be seen as a positive development by those affected.
