Canadian Cryptocurrency CEO Dies In India, Taking Password To $190 Million With Him To Grave
Gerald Cotten was the founder of Quadriga CX, which launched in 2013, a cryptocurrency company and money exchange platform.
He unfortunately died in India recently while trying to open an orphanage for kids. What's doubly unfortunate is he was the only one who knew the password that holds $190 million of customer money locked in cryptocurrency.
Even scriptwriters can't churn a yarn this thrilling. When Gerald Cotten passed away he also took a critical password with him to the grave.
At stake is a whopping $190 million of investor money locked into cryptocurrency. And those investors have a long, uncertain wait ahead of them.
Cotten passed away in India in December 2018 from Crohn's disease, following which his wife Jennifer Robertson and QuadrigaCX filed for credit protection in Canada -- which is when news of his death became public.
QuadrigaCX said it couldn't access encrypted account of Cotten which held all the company assets and $190 million in cryptocurrency cash. But not everyone is willing to believe this just yet.
Online forums and Reddit are ablaze with conspiracy theories, claiming Cotten is in fact alive and has gone missing with investor money. It's an insane accusation, one that will need more investigation for some conclusive answers.