Red Flags and the Quadriga Collapse

Aaron Lammer, author and host of the Exit Scam podcast, recounts the mysterious and controversial death of QuadrigaCX’s founder Gerald Cotton. Show highlights:

• A quick recap of QuadrigaCX
• why Aaron felt compelled to create a series on QuadrigaCX
• how Gerald Cotton, a lifelong Ponzi-addict, came to be the CEO of Canada’s largest crypto exchange
• what Ponzi-schemes Gerald ran before starting Quadriga CX
• why customers trusted QuadrigaCX and what red flags were readily apparent looking back
• the sketchy tactic Gerald used to single-handedly boosted QuadrigaCX’s trading volume by 30% 
• a new wife, empty wallets, a hastily written will, and the circumstances surrounding Gerald’s shocking death
• how Gerald’s dark web background might have prepared him to fake his own death
• what the chances are that Canadian authorities exhume Gerald’s body 
• why Aaron is skeptical Gerald’s widow was “in” on the QuadrigaCX fiasco

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Episode Links

Aaron Lammer

• Co-founder of Longform.org + co-host of Longform Podcast (2010+)

• Treats Media -- podcast platform (2018+)

• Exit Scam

• CoinTalk: https://medium.com/s/cointalk 

Podcast

Twitter: https://twitter.com/exitscampod 

Episodes: 

1. The Lost Password
2. 1. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-lost-password/id1565845318?i=1000521095118 
   1. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/part-ii-the-co-founder/id1565845318?i=1000521984138 
3. The Co-Founder
   1. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/part-iii-the-ponzi-schemer/id1565845318?i=1000522885172
4. The Ponzi Schemer
   1. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/part-iv-the-chris-markay-account/id1565845318?i=1000523624957 
5. The Chris Markay Account
   1. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/part-v-the-old-friend/id1565845318?i=1000524470802
6. The Old Friend
   1. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/part-vi-the-coffin/id1565845318?i=1000525407259 
7. The Coffin

Quadriga

Deep Dives: 

• CBC News
• • https://newsinteractives.cbc.ca/longform/bitcoin-gerald-cotten-quadriga-cx-death 
• Vanity Fair
• • https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2019/11/the-strange-tale-of-quadriga-gerald-cotten 
• Amy Castor timeline
• • https://amycastor.com/2019/02/12/how-the-hell-did-we-get-here-a-timeline-of-quadrigacx-events/ 
• Ontario Securities Commission
• • https://www.osc.gov.on.ca/quadrigacxreport/ 

Details

• Ontario Securities Commission deems Quadriga an “old fashioned fraud” + “Ponzi”
• • https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2019/11/the-strange-tale-of-quadriga-gerald-cotten
  • https://www.coindesk.com/quadriga-was-a-ponzi-scheme-ontario-securities-regulator-says 
• Crypto officially recognized as property in Canada due to this case
• • https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=728711fd-5d3c-43ea-91b4-efb8c02f4bec
• Fun Reddit stuff
• • Is a Gerald Cotten alive? -- a poll:
  • • https://www.reddit.com/r/QuadrigaCX/comments/m17kip/is_gerald_cotten_really_dead/
  • Graphic connecting Michael Patryn to Omar Dhanani
  • • https://www.reddit.com/r/BitcoinCA/comments/828dnr/quadrigacx_cofounder_michael_patryn_is_a/ 
• Lawyers publicly request that RCMP exhume Gerald Cotten’s body
• • https://www.coindesk.com/lawyers-ramp-up-pressure-to-exhume-quadriga-ceos-body 
• Report on Gerald Cotten transferring funds into a personal account
• • https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/28259/quadrigacx-co-founder-transferred-user-funds-into-personal-accounts-ey

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