If you haven’t seen the new Netflix documentary, Crypto King, you should stop right here and go watch it. Even if you’re not into crypto, it’s worth watching. Although, considering you’re reading this on CoinText, I’m going to assume you are a crypto fan (still, I’ve read that there are actually some crypto people who are in relationships – who would have thought? So, your significant others will enjoy it too).
With that said, I’m about to jump into some spoilers, so if you aren’t familiar with the crazy story, this is your last chance to avoid finding out.
The Story
Gerald Cotten was the founder of QuadrigaCX, a Canadian crypto exchange. He was a nerd; perpetually clad in clunky running shoes and ill-fitting jeans. He had glasses, and he even spoke like a nerd! Genuinely, he did. He sported dishevelled hair in every clip, and he seemed to get excited by remote control cars and flying toys. So yeah, he was a stereotypical nerd.
That’s all fine (I myself have never owned a hairbrush, and “dishevelled” is a word I often hear). It just makes the story all the more curious, because Cotten turned out to be a sadistic monster, living a double life of fraud the entire time. The most accurate line in the film is when he is described as completely “devoid of human compassion”. There was a screw loose, no doubt; he was pure evil.
It’s tragic. The scenes with Tong Zou I found the most emotive – the young software engineer who transferred the last of his life savings – $400,000 – onto QuadrigaCX in order to avoid a 2% bank charge. He had earlier lost out in the crypto mayhem, and was forced to sell his house in order to clear the debt; that $400,000 was the last of what he had left.
“I couldn’t get any sleep. I just prayed. I really prayed it wasn’t a scam”, Zou says in the film. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what it was – a scam.
Problems
Cotten died mysteriously of Crohn’s disease in India in December 2018, with the death announced by his wife one month later. Also announced was that he was the only person who had the keys to the crypto wallets, so they had gone with him to the grave (damn…it’s such a crazy sentence to even write). What that meant was that Zou’s $400,000 was likely gone – along with all the other customers. The total missing investor funds amounted to $190 million.
But that’s where I have my first qualm with the film. Sure, the death is bizarre. And the conspiracy theories are…