GERALD Cotten died unexpectedly in 2018 and hundreds of millions of dollars in investor funds vanished into the crypto ether.
But what is the story behind the Canadian blockchain guru, was QuadrigaCX all a scam and how much money did he have when he died?
Who was Gerald Cotten?
Gerald Cotten was born in Belleville, Ontario, Canada, in 1988 and studied business at York University, graduating in 2010.
In 2013, Cotten and Michael Patryn co-founded QuadrigaCX.
In the company’s first three months of operating, they made $90,000, but by 2016 and the Bitcoin and cryptocurrency bull run, the company exploded and generated revenues of more than $1.2 billion, becoming Canada’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange.
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Cotten had entered the right business at the right time and went on to succeed beyond his wildest dreams.
But his dramatic and very public fall came when the cryptocurrency market crashed in 2018.
When QuadrigaCX customers tried to withdraw their funds from the exchange, they were unable to.
QuadrigaCX was all a scam.
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Cotten took users’ money and provided them with fake cryptocurrency funds.
He then tried to gamble the money on external cryptocurrency sites but lost it all and there was no money to return to his customer
QuadrigaCX didn’t even have an official bank account and processed payments through third parties or Cotten’s own laptop.
What happened to Gerald Cotten?
Gerald Cotten died in December 2018 on his honeymoon with Jennifer Robertson in Jaipur, India.
According to reports, Cotten died from complications related to Crohn’s disease but the death wasn’t announced until a month and a half later, in January 2019 and Cotten had a closed-casket funeral and no autopsy.
The mysteries surrounding his death and the missing $190 million from QuadrigaCX have led many to believe Cotten is still alive.
At the time of death, Cotten was the solitary custodian of the company’s funds and was the only one who knew his laptop’s password.
Over 76,000 customers lost money following Cotten’s death.
Before Cotten died, he had altered his will and left many of his assets to his wife, but he hadn’t written down the passwords for the digital storage devices where QuadrigaCX said it kept its customers’ money.
Cottens’ home was full of cash, which Cotten claimed was because banks didn’t understand cryptocurrency and refused to work with them.
In 2019, QuadrigaCX ceased operations and filed for bankruptcy.
Regulators were only able to recover around $27 million of customer funds.
QuadrigaCX wasn’t Cotten’s first scam either.
At the age of 15 Cotten launched his first pyramid scheme and promised customers within 48 hours a return of 103 to 150 per cent.
Cotten also founded a money-laundering site before QuadrigaCX, taking percentages of each transaction.
His wife, Jennifer Robertson said: “I love the Gerry that I knew. I don’t know who this other person is, but he’s let me down so much.”
She added: “I truly think it was Gerry’s cover.
“He obviously made it look like he was on the up and up to hide what he was doing and what he had done in the past.
“It is just appalling to me.
“I grew up in a middle-class, good family.
“It’s just hard for me to fathom that Gerry could even live a life of crime for so long.”
Robertson isn’t under investigation or facing any criminal charges.
What was Gerald Cotten’s net worth?
Gerald Cotten became incredibly wealthy from his cut in the QuadrigaCX transactions.
It is estimated that at the time of his death, Gerald Cotten was worth around $190 million.
Cotten lived a lavish life, owning a $600,000 yacht named Gulliver that had three cabins and a dining area for six.
Cotten owned 17 properties, including a three-bedroom house in the posh Fall River area, north of Halifax.
He also owned his own private island – Mahone Bay island – which has 1.6 hectares, along with a private jet.