Cryptocurrency investors call to exhume the body of defunct company founder to make sure he's dead

Gerald Cotten's death has been questioned by the people who invested in his cryptocurrency company. Photo / YouTube

Rejected investors in an inoperative cryptocurrency company want to confirm the death of the business's founder by unearthing his remains and exhuming them.

The 30-year-old founder Gerald Cotten held the online keys to a staggering $207.83 million in cryptocurrency that was kept in "digital wallets" when he suddenly died last year, according to the BBC.

Only $37.9 million has been recovered as Cotten passed away with sole access to the "digital wallets" - the cryptocurrency company QuadrigaCX had 115,000 customers.

Conspiracies have surfaced online that Mr Cotten faked his own death and ran off with the funds, according to New York Post.

An investigation by Ernst & Young argued that Mr Cotten had created Quadriga accounts under different names and that "substantial funds" were transferred to him.

Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin have made a lot of people rich, sometimes by making others poor. Photo / Getty Images

For some QuadrigaCX customers the rumours prompted their lawyers to request exhumation of the late CEO's remains and an autopsy on the corpse "to confirm both its identity and the cause of death."

In a statement to the BBC, Mr Cotten's widow Jennifer Robertson said it's unclear how an exhumation would help people get their money back.

The widow "is heartbroken to learn of this request", adding her late husband's death "should not be in doubt", according to the statement.