ext

In the wild world of cryptocurrency, few tales are as bizarre and chilling as the saga of QuadrigaCX, Canada’s largest crypto exchange in the late 2010s.
The story centers on Gerald Cotten, a young, unassuming entrepreneur who founded and ran QuadrigaCX. By 2018, the exchange held around C$190 million (about US$145 million at the time) in customer funds across various cryptocurrencies. Cotten was known for being the sole guardian of the private keys to the exchange’s cold wallets – the offline storage meant to keep funds ultra-secure.
In December 2018, Cotten, then just 30, traveled to India with his new wife, Jennifer Robertson, to open an orphanage (a charitable cause he often highlighted). Tragically, he fell ill with complications from Crohn’s disease and died suddenly in a hospital on December 9. His death certificate was issued in India, and his body was flown back to Canada. When he died suddenly in India in December 2018 at age 30, those keys seemingly died with him – locking away customer funds forever.
QuadrigaCX owed around C$215 million (about US$160 million at the time) to roughly 115,000 users. The bulk was in cryptocurrencies stored in cold wallets, primarily:
Bitcoin (BTC) — ~26,000 BTC (the majority by value)
Ethereum (ETH) — ~430,000 ETH
Litecoin (LTC) — ~200,000 LTC
Bitcoin Cash (BCH) — ~11,000 BCH
Bitcoin SV (BSV) — ~11,000 BSV
Smaller amounts in Bitcoin Gold (BTG) and other forks
(Exact figures varied slightly across reports, but these were the main holdings claimed.)
Post-death investigations by Ernst & Young (the court-appointed monitor) revealed the cold wallets had been mostly empty since April 2018. Cotten had been:
- Trading customer funds on other exchanges (often on margin, losing millions)
- Creating fake accounts to inflate volume
- Using user deposits for personal expenses (yachts, planes, luxury homes)
It was less “lost keys” and more a long-running scheme exposed by his untimely death.
Some funds were recovered from hot wallets and assets, leading to partial payouts years later – but the vast majority vanished. Conspiracy theories persist (did Cotten fake his death?), but official reports point to fraud.
Conspiracy theories exploded – was Cotten really dead? Did he fake his death and flee with the keys (an “exit scam”)? Some pointed to irregularities in the death certificate and his solo control over everything. Ernst & Young, the court-appointed monitor, recovered some funds but confirmed most cold wallets were empty long before his death (Cotten had been moving money around).
Here’s where it gets peculiar: Cotten was the only person with access to the encrypted laptop and private keys controlling Quadriga’s cold storage. His widow claimed she couldn’t access them, and no recovery seeds or backups were found. Overnight, roughly 115,000 customers lost access to their funds – poof, gone into the digital void.
QuadrigaCX filed for creditor protection in early 2019, owing users about $215 million CAD. An investigation by the Ontario Securities Commission later revealed Cotten had been running the exchange like a personal piggy bank: trading customer funds on other platforms, creating fake accounts to inflate trading volume, and even using depositor money for his lavish lifestyle (private jets, yachts, luxury cars). It was essentially a Ponzi-like operation masked as a legit exchange.
In the end, no massive recovery happened. Customers got partial refunds years later from liquidated assets, but the bulk vanished. Cotten’s death locked away the truth forever – or so it seems.
This real event inspired the 2022 Netflix documentary Trust No One: The Hunt for the Crypto King. It’s a stark reminder of crypto’s double-edged sword: true self-custody means “not your keys, not your crypto,” but entrusting them to one guy on his honeymoon? That’s peak peculiar.
*
[BOOK/Peculiar Crypto Story]
📓📑 Welcome to Avi's Binance Square book, into his famous compilation of the Crypto World's best and the most peculiar Crypto Stories—Peculiar Crypto Story! From all the Bitcoin, Binance Coin, Ethereum and the infamed altcoins lost to the underworld, Avi has compiled for you the most mysterious Crypto incidents that have claimed thousands of keys, wallets and what's more, lifechanging volumes of crypto! Follow Avi His (Binance UID: 529688760) and share his compilations to any friend you want to lock in into the ever-mysterious adventure. Join in yourself and gratify.
#Avi #BinanceSquare #Book #CryptoStory #ext