Gerald Cotten passed away during his honeymoon in India, at only 30 years old. He was the only one who knew the passwords that granted access to 190 million dollars in client funds. Suddenly, that money disappeared without a trace: there were no backups, no recovery plan, and no other person with access. Just a dead CEO and a cold wallet impossible to open.
That was, at least, the official version.
But when investigators began to dig deeper, doubts emerged. When locating the cold wallets of Quadriga —which supposedly held those funds— they discovered they were empty. They had not been hacked or emptied recently, but had been that way for a long time.
Everything points to Gerald having secretly transferred clients' money to personal accounts for years. By day, he ran Canada’s largest cryptocurrency exchange; by night, he drained it from within. Nobody detected it. Nobody audited. Everyone trusted him.
And the most unsettling part comes next.
His body was never rigorously examined and was buried quickly. When authorities requested to exhume it to confirm the cause of death, the family refused. No investigation has managed to close the case conclusively.
Additionally, movements were recorded on the blockchain related to those wallets after Gerald's supposed death.
It cannot be claimed that he faked his death… but neither can it be completely ruled out.
The money disappeared. The wallets were already empty before his passing. The burial was rushed. And, to this day, there is no clear explanation.
An unexpected tragedy or the most meticulously executed escape in cryptocurrency history?
Some stories simply do not have an ending. And this is one of them. 👇
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