<s>
Quadriga	B-Protocol
Fintech	I-Protocol
Solutions	I-Protocol
was	O
the	O
owner	O
and	O
operator	O
of	O
QuadrigaCX	B-Protocol
,	O
which	O
was	O
believed	O
to	O
be	O
Canada	O
's	O
largest	O
cryptocurrency	O
exchange	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
"	O
What	O
Quadriga	O
really	O
did	O
with	O
the	O
money	O
that	O
customers	O
gave	O
it	O
to	O
buy	O
Bitcoin	B-Protocol
remains	O
a	O
mystery	O
,	O
"	O
according	O
to	O
Chainalysis	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Gerald	B-Protocol
Cotten	I-Protocol
(	O
born	O
11	O
May	O
1988	O
)	O
lived	O
in	O
Belleville	O
,	O
Ontario	O
before	O
attending	O
the	O
Schulich	O
School	O
of	O
Business	O
at	O
York	O
University	O
in	O
Toronto	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
He	O
learned	O
about	O
Bitcoin	B-Protocol
in	O
Toronto	O
and	O
travelled	O
to	O
Vancouver	O
,	O
British	O
Columbia	O
,	O
where	O
he	O
founded	O
Quadriga	O
in	O
November	O
2013	O
with	O
Michael	O
Patryn	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
January	O
2014	O
they	O
installed	O
the	O
second	O
Bitcoin	B-Protocol
ATM	O
in	O
Vancouver	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2014	O
only	O
C	O
$7.4	O
million	O
worth	O
of	O
bitcoin	B-Protocol
were	O
exchanged	O
on	O
Quadriga	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
a	O
2014	O
interview	O
,	O
founder	O
Gerald	B-Protocol
Cotten	I-Protocol
explained	O
that	O
the	O
company	O
stored	O
customer	O
funds	O
on	O
paper	O
wallets	O
in	O
safe	O
deposit	O
boxes	O
:	O
"	O
So	O
we	O
just	O
send	O
money	O
to	O
them	O
,	O
we	O
do	O
n’t	O
need	O
to	O
go	O
back	O
to	O
the	O
bank	O
every	O
time	O
we	O
want	O
to	O
put	O
money	O
into	O
it	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
We	O
just	O
send	O
money	O
from	O
our	O
Bitcoin	B-Protocol
app	O
directly	O
to	O
those	O
paper	O
wallets	O
,	O
and	O
keep	O
it	O
safe	O
that	O
way.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2017	O
,	O
Bitcoin	B-Protocol
experienced	O
a	O
speculative	O
frenzy	O
rising	O
in	O
price	O
from	O
about	O
US$	O
1,000	O
to	O
almost	O
US$	O
20,000	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
About	O
C	O
$1.2	O
billion	O
worth	O
of	O
bitcoin	B-Protocol
was	O
exchanged	O
on	O
Quadriga	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
June	O
2017	O
,	O
Quadriga	O
announced	O
that	O
they	O
had	O
lost	O
ethereum	B-Application
worth	O
US$14	O
million	O
due	O
to	O
a	O
smart	B-Application
contract	I-Application
error	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Throughout	O
2018	O
,	O
as	O
Bitcoin	B-Protocol
prices	O
crashed	O
,	O
customers	O
of	O
the	O
exchange	O
reported	O
delays	O
when	O
attempting	O
to	O
withdraw	O
dollars	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
14	O
January	O
2019	O
,	O
Quadriga	O
announced	O
that	O
their	O
CEO	O
,	O
Gerald	B-Protocol
Cotten	I-Protocol
,	O
had	O
died	O
the	O
month	O
prior	O
from	O
Crohn	O
's	O
disease	O
while	O
doing	O
volunteer	O
work	O
at	O
an	O
orphanage	O
in	O
India	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Blockchain	B-Application
analysts	O
have	O
reported	O
that	O
they	O
are	O
unable	O
to	O
find	O
evidence	O
of	O
Quadriga	O
's	O
cold	O
wallets	O
on	O
the	O
blockchain	B-Application
,	O
a	O
public	O
ledger	O
used	O
for	O
cryptocurrencies	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Another	O
"	O
appears	O
to	O
have	O
been	O
used	O
to	O
receive	O
Bitcoin	B-Protocol
from	O
another	O
cryptocurrency	O
exchange	O
account	O
and	O
subsequently	O
transfer	O
Bitcoin	B-Protocol
to	O
the	O
Quadriga	O
hot	O
wallet	O
"	O
on	O
3	O
December	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
Reddit	B-Application
users	O
have	O
suggested	O
that	O
Cotten	O
faked	O
his	O
own	O
death	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
defraud	O
customers	O
through	O
an	O
exit	O
scam	O
,	O
while	O
others	O
believe	O
that	O
Cotten	O
's	O
death	O
exposed	O
a	O
Ponzi	O
scheme	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
stated	O
that	O
Gerald	B-Protocol
Cotten	I-Protocol
committed	O
fraud	O
by	O
opening	O
accounts	O
under	O
aliases	O
and	O
crediting	O
himself	O
with	O
fictitious	O
currency	O
and	O
crypto	O
asset	O
balances	O
,	O
which	O
he	O
traded	O
with	O
unsuspecting	O
clients	O
and	O
that	O
"	O
What	O
happened	O
at	O
Quadriga	O
was	O
an	O
old-fashioned	O
fraud	O
wrapped	O
in	O
modern	O
technology.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
Gerald	B-Protocol
Cotten	I-Protocol
's	O
widow	O
has	O
maintained	O
that	O
she	O
knew	O
nothing	O
about	O
her	O
husband	O
's	O
activities	O
and	O
agreed	O
to	O
forfeit	O
$12	O
million	O
in	O
assets	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ernst	O
&	O
Young	O
reported	O
on	O
6	O
February	O
2019	O
that	O
C$	O
468,675	O
(	O
US$	O
354,300	O
)	O
of	O
bitcoin	B-Protocol
were	O
"	O
inadvertently	O
"	O
sent	O
to	O
an	O
inaccessible	O
cold	O
wallet	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
documentary	O
titled	O
Dead	O
Man	O
's	O
Switch	O
:	O
A	O
Crypto	O
Mystery	O
about	O
the	O
story	O
of	O
Gerald	B-Protocol
Cotten	I-Protocol
premiered	O
at	O
the	O
2021	O
Hot	O
Docs	O
Canadian	O
International	O
Documentary	O
Festival	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
Netflix	O
documentary	O
titled	O
Trust	O
No	O
One	O
:	O
The	O
Hunt	O
for	O
the	O
Crypto	O
King	O
about	O
the	O
story	O
of	O
Gerald	B-Protocol
Cotten	I-Protocol
was	O
released	O
in	O
March	O
2022	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
2021	O
8-episode	O
podcast	O
entitled	O
Exit	O
Scam	O
followed	O
the	O
buildup	O
of	O
Quadriga	O
,	O
and	O
investigated	O
whether	O
Gerald	B-Protocol
Cotten	I-Protocol
had	O
faked	O
his	O
own	O
death	O
.	O
</s>
