QuadrigaCX
QuadrigaCX was a Bitcoin company in the Exchanges category, founded in 2013 by Gerald Cotten, Michael Patryn.
The Idea
Canada's largest digital asset exchange. Cotten, a 25-year-old York University graduate, ran the entire operation from his personal laptop with no physical office.
Early Traction
Became Canada's go-to exchange, processing C$7.4M in Bitcoin trades in 2014 alone.
Peak Stats
C$250 million (US$190M) in customer digital assets at time of collapse. 115,000 affected customers.
Status Today
Cotten passed on December 9, 2018 at age 30, reportedly of Crohn's disease while traveling in India. He was the sole holder of private keys to cold wallets containing all customer funds. The Ontario Securities Commission concluded in 2020 that Quadriga was a fraud and Ponzi scheme. His body was exhumed in 2020 to confirm his identity.
Why It Matters
QuadrigaCX is one of the most bizarre situations in Bitcoin's history. Cotten's sudden death abroad, with him as the sole keyholder to every wallet, was suspicious enough that creditors had his body exhumed, and many in the community still believe he faked his own death to disappear with the funds, a theory that has never been proven. It also became the subject of a Netflix documentary and raised questions about single points of failure in digital asset custody.