He liquidated hundreds of thousands of investors, dying alone with millions. The story of the largest cryptoc date is still a mystery

When Gerald Cotten, the blockchain mage and founder of what was then Canada’s largest cryptome exchange, died unexpectedly in 2018, hundreds of millions of dollars from troubled investors suddenly disappeared into a cryptic space to which only Cotten had access.

However, when banks, journalists and the Reddite account holders decided to track down the cash, it turned out that, in addition to Cotten’s shocking death, questions suddenly hung over who Gerald Cotten actually was.

A classically inconspicuous “nerd” with an unwavering smile

Gerald Cotten belonged to a group of technology magicians at the turn of the last decade and today he could happily bask on the imaginary beach among the richest people in the crypto sector, such as Changpeng Zhao, founder of the largest cryptomen exchange Binance or Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of the etherea billion dollars.

Friends described Cotten as an inconspicuous “nerd” who was most characterized by his unwavering smile and pale skin, as if she had not seen the light since his puberty.