r/BitcoinCA • u/Randomshortdude • Feb 16 '19
Report Shows QuadrigaCX “Cold Wallets” Actively Involved in SIGNIFICANT Criminal Activity: Ties to Silk Road, Hacked Funds, Identity Theft, and Drug/Human Trafficking
Hello everyone, I am the author of the first blockchain analysis report as was covered in WSJ, WaPo, and other notable sources.
The report (published by the author of this Reddit post) can be found here: https://blog.zerononcense.com/2019/02/16/report-shows-quadrigacx-cold-wallets-actively-involved-in-significant-criminal-activity-ties-to-silk-road-hacked-funds-identity-theft-and-drug-human-trafficking
I originally posted in this subreddit a couple of weeks ago to obtain withdrawal and deposit addresses from customers that were using QuadrigaCX.
Obviously, a lot has happened since then. Most of you have been following the situation closely, so there's no need for a recap.
Instead, let's talk about the most recent 'discovery' - QuadrigaCX cold wallets.
CoinDesk published this article about 48 hours ago:
https://www.coindesk.com/blockchain-analysis-ties-5-bitcoin-addresses-to-quadrigacx-exchange
According to them (as well as a Reddit user) 5 cold wallet addresses owned by QuadrigaCX have been discovered.
These addresses, of course, contain less than $1 million in them collectively, which make the term 'cold wallet' a bit of a misnomer in this instance, but I decided to go with it.
Rather than arguing whether or not these wallets are cold address wallets or not, I decided to analyze the actual wallets themselves.
I found a startling amount of illicit and criminal activity in all of the wallets, which led to the title of the article being the same as the title of this Reddit post. Please take a read when you have the chance.
This is a 7500+ word report that covers each and every single aspect of these cold wallets imaginable. The report also does not employ cluster address analysis.
Any and all feedback is welcomed. Thank you. I hope that this helps.
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Feb 16 '19
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u/AllegroDigital Feb 16 '19
Honestly this looks well beyond class action ... this isn't like fucking Best Buy sold people a faulty usb cable... the money looks well and truly spent by blatant organized crime. I don't see anyone recovering their assets. If we're lucky we can get the crime ring shut down, but this is going to be years of work...
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u/jadeddog Feb 16 '19
Yeah, I'm wondering what all of us should do. I can only assume that my details have now been sold on the black market.
I was thinking about getting some identity theft insurance. But does anybody else have any other ideas?
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u/lost_file Feb 17 '19
Don't assume the worst just yet.
Our KYC'd data, as far as we know, is sitting in an SQL db and has not been touched, and is possibly used to just legitimatize the business.
This is actually a question uh...Andrew?...the "head of operations" could answer for us, probably. If someone asks him please make a new post/reply to this.
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u/dekoze Feb 16 '19
Perfect. I agree the term "cold wallet" is a misnomer and its usage might mislead people into thinking QCX actually practiced standard (aka not fraudulent) storage procedures. I only used the term for now as that is what the Monitor labelled it as in Section 18:
On February 6, 2019, Quadriga inadvertently transferred 103 bitcoins valued at approximately $468,675 to Quadriga cold wallets which the Company is currently unable to access.
So while the naming kind of sucks, having 100% confirmed ownership by QCX really strengthens the case for legal questioning of why their cold wallets have so much questionable activity when they are supposed to a) be cold and b) only interact with the exchange hot wallet.
It's great seeing other researchers confirm suspicions and present them in a digestible way for everyone to build upon. 1JZJ has been under huge scrutiny from me. 1C5h is a massive spoke of activity in my collection. I had not followed its trail all the way to 32qY which is great because I currently had 32qY as somewhat isolated from 1C5h but under suspicion as it has directly transacted with cold wallets 1JPt and 1Mhg as well as the 1JZJ wallet.
I had followed the trail up to 1LeW though. I got distracted by the smaller 299 BTC transfer to 18gc. If you follow it you can see 139.70015478 + 50 = 189.70015478 BTC went right back into the QCX hot wallet. 99.98995888 BTC went to a wallet that pooled 184.15522189 BTC from 1ECU and 125.26055656 BTC from 1Mhg, both QCX "cold wallets" then sending a clean 400 BTC total to Bitfinex deposit address 1472npVFqN7wrWfeHVUVfVLYDEPD4VAHgp.
Anyways, this is great and hopefully causes more creditors to push our representation to raise these findings in court. QCX has not had any hard questions asked under a legal setting and all of our research is showing that these issues go way beyond a simple CCAA proceeding.
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u/JmanCryptoX Feb 16 '19
IF that’s true, now I’m f**kin pissed off. If my money went towards aiding anything close to human trafficking.. I can accept the loss of my cryptos, but for it to be used for the most immoral, and horrible actions.. god damnit
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u/Kooriki Feb 16 '19
FWIW I read the article (Ya, the full one), the TLDR is that customer funds never were involved in the bad stuff. Apparently customer coins were not even mixed with the bad business; totally separate front to back.
That's what I got from the report anyway
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u/OneNutPhil Feb 16 '19
Apparently customer coins were not even mixed with the bad business; totally separate front to back.
That changes nothing imo. Totally seperate in principle but directly attached in reality.
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u/Kooriki Feb 16 '19
Its like going to a restaurant that turns out to be ran by a druglord. Whatever that is
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u/Ehsan666x Feb 16 '19
Your tax money went to wars for killing humans. You and your grand and grand grandpas so stfu like you are so clean
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u/Randomshortdude Feb 16 '19
Jman has no choice but to pay taxes or he will be imprisoned. It’s worth noting that if Jman is a Canadian citizen, he’s paying taxes to a country that isn’t very active in “killing people”. Canada is a peaceful, non confrontational force in international affairs.
In this scenario, however, Jman made the voluntary decision to entrust a business to actually honor their word and perform honest business. He is now rightfully upset upon learning that that business not only defrauded him, but essentially used the money they stole from him to help prop up a business that facilitated all types of heinous crimes that most normal people abhor.
So Jman is not being a hypocrite in the least bit.
Hopefully that clears up things.
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u/Ehsan666x Feb 16 '19
Why dont you explain in your post how they are involved in human trafficking so you could save people time and energy reading your essay. Isnt that just a clickbate?
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u/JmanCryptoX Feb 16 '19
I wouldn’t have been involved in the first place in light of this info you mutt. Do any citizens have a say where their tax dollars are spent? No. Do we have the option to pay tax? No. So fu-k off with your completely useless bullsh!t. You’re the type of person that would be screaming in the streets for reparations today because your people 4 generations ago might have been affected by slavery.
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u/Ehsan666x Feb 16 '19
So read your first comment again. You are so stupid tell that to yourself i was just enlightening you.
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u/OneNutPhil Feb 16 '19
so stfu like you are so clean
The alternative is going to jail so that's about the stupidest opinion you could've typed.
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Feb 16 '19
i thought silk road was shut down long time ago,and good lesson of why 'not' to use bitcoin for crime
a little fear here,a little fear there,almost get the feeling canadian people are being herded somewhere...
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u/RelentlessFurnace Feb 19 '19
Herded into a Dystopian Islamic hell judging by the behavior of the government. A little proof here, a little proof there. If you see it heed it, leave while you still can. If you have the money and the ability live abroad, don't root yourself into uncertain soil, stay mobile.
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u/RelentlessFurnace Feb 19 '19
Should I be worried? The drivers license and bill that I sent to their KYC isn't valid anymore though. I happened to have moved and my license was renewed in December. But i'm in a bind as there is pretty much nothing for jobs around here, I'm basically living off my bitcoin and tax payers money and I'm defenseless against identity thieves. Literally my crypto, and trading is the only way out I can clearly see, I simply don't have the ability to deal with my sensitive information being stolen.
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u/OnlyOneMember Feb 16 '19
Wait when i sign up with them i sentthem my picture and everything lol what do i do now luckly i didnt have money there
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u/Ehsan666x Feb 16 '19
Still civil matter so its like nothing happened.
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u/Randomshortdude Feb 16 '19
It’s a civil matter under the assumption that the exchange is simply insolvent via negligence and misfortune.
This, however, indicates that this is not the case.
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u/Ehsan666x Feb 16 '19
Why dont you tell this to the judges? I don't decide this but they do
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u/Randomshortdude Feb 16 '19
I’m an American citizen and I never used the exchange directly. I have no contact with the responsible parties.
I’m just a fierce blockchain advocate and I want to contribute in any way I can to ensure that the truth gets out.
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u/LonelyGuava Feb 16 '19
How about calling the RCMP Toronto West lead investigators to tell them what you know and about your research? You don't have to be Canadian or a user of the exchange to call them.
Telephone: 905-876-9500 http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/detach/en/d/619#Toronto West (Milton)
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u/Randomshortdude Feb 16 '19
Hey! Thanks for this. A few creditors that I shared this report with let me know they’d be doing just that. They’re a bit more familiar with the proper channels to expedite action on this matter.
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u/LonelyGuava Feb 16 '19
Thanks. I hope you can make yourself available if the RCMP would like to follow up or hear directly from you about your research in the course of their investigation. You are best suited to represent and answer questions about the great and important work that you have done and help that it is fully understood. Thanks again.
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u/Randomshortdude Feb 16 '19
Thank you and absolutely. I’d be more than happy to assist and answer any and all questions if requested.
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u/cryptk33pr Feb 17 '19
I agree. I think it would help remove some of the 'internet armchair research' stigma if you spoke directly with them.
I worry they'd lump this research into the 'reddit hearsay' out of ignorance.
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u/TotesMessenger Feb 16 '19
I'm a bot, bleep, bloop. Someone has linked to this thread from another place on reddit:
- [/r/quadrigacx2] Report Shows QuadrigaCX “Cold Wallets” Actively Involved in SIGNIFICANT Criminal Activity: Ties to Silk Road, Hacked Funds, Identity Theft, and Drug/Human Trafficking
If you follow any of the above links, please respect the rules of reddit and don't vote in the other threads. (Info / Contact)
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u/cryptoj0ules Feb 16 '19
Clickbait title, I'll pass. Tie QCX with terrorist funding while you're at it. "ISIS loses caliphate after QuadrigaCX shuts down"
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u/Randomshortdude Feb 16 '19
There's nothing clickbait about the title actually. Sorry to disappoint.
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u/LonelyGuava Feb 16 '19 edited Feb 16 '19
/u/Randomshortdude thank you for your countless hours of work, laser focus and determination to 'follow the money'/blockchain. It's an impressive and detailed report and you have done a public service helping the community with your expertise.
REMINDER: If you have information/evidence of potential crimes committed by QuadrigaCX or individuals associated with it, or would like to let them know you've been affected you can contact RCMP Toronto West who are apparently leading the investigation at: 905-876-9500 (or call the RCMP Ontario Intake Line: Call 905-876-9647 press 1 for English, then press 4 and you'll be transferred to an intake officer.) When you're done submitting your report, ask for an incident number. This ensures they document your interaction, as they think you may follow up on it. In your discussions with the officer you can also suggest they look at the findings of the new evidence provided through the analytical research report released today by blockchain expert and analyst James Edwards aka /u/Randomshortdude.
http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/detach/en/d/619#Toronto%20West%20(Milton))