User:Geo Swan/Gerald Cotten

Gerald Cotten was a Canadian financier, whose sudden death, at 30-years-old, stirred controversy. Investors were distressed when told that encrypted digital assets he controlled, for them, could not be accessed, because only he knew the access codes.

Cotten's death, and the loss of his keys, has been offered as a cautionary tale, when other instances of crypto-currency loss have come to light.

Cotten was born and grew up in Ontario, where he attended York University's Schulich School of Business.

In 2013, three years after graduation Cotten co-founded QuadrigaCX, a cryptocurrency exchange.

Cotten was left as its CEO and sole director, after other directors resigned, in 2016.

Cryptocurrencies are volatile, and unregulated. Cotten took the cautionary step of storing most of the $250 million cryptocurrency deposits Quadriga managed in so-called "cold wallets". Cold wallets are distinguished from "hot wallets" in that they are stored on computers that are not connected to the internet, and thus are a much harder target for hackers. Commentators praised Cotten for this precautionary step, but criticized him for failing to take steps so others at his company could open up the cold wallets if he should die or become incapacitated.

On November 13, 2019, approximately three weeks before his death, The Globe and Mail quoted Cotten's reaction to a law-suit from the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC). In January 2019 CIBC had frozen several accounts with $26 million CAD on deposit, claiming it couldn't be sure who the funds actually belonged to. The Globe and Mail reported the accounts belonged to QuadrigaCX's "payment processor", Costodian Inc., and its owner, Jose Reyes."''. They reported Quadriga had argued that the majority of the funds were really its property, and that CIBC freezing the funds was improper.  CIBC had called for the court to take the frozen funds in trust, and conduct its own determination as to its genuine owners.

Ontario Superior Court judge Glenn Hainey did agree to have the courts take control of the funds, but noted he could not yet determine whether CIBC's initial decision to freeze the funds was appropriate, or whether they faced a liability.

After noting that Cotten was "pleased" that the case was moving forward they quoted him saying :

According to the Halifax Chronicle Herald the company released documents in mid-January 2019, that showed he died "suddenly" at a private hospital in Jaipur, India. Cotten had written a new will in late November 2018, approximately two weeks before his death. His wife Jennifer Robertson, accompanied Cotten to the hospital on December 8, 2018, when he experienced a crisis in his ongoing battle with Crohn's disease. In spite of the hospital's efforts, he went through a septic shock and had several cardiac arrests, dying, finally, on December 9, 2018.

According to probate documents filed by Robertson, on December 21, 2018, he left her most of his personal assets of approximately 9.5 million CAD. His will included provision to set aside $100,000 for his in-laws, for the care of the couple's two dogs, if Robertson should die within 30 days of his death.

Vanity Fair magazine wrote an article about Cotten, in its November 2019 issue. In the article they reported that an associate of Cotten's, Michael Patryn, had actually been Quadriga's co-founder. They reported that Quadriga investors claimed Cotten and Patryn had a background in Ponzi schemes:

In 2020 pressure mounted for Cotten's body to be exhumed, to confirm he had not faked is death.