Quadriga collapsed because of fraud committed by Gerald Cotten, who operated the exchange like a "Ponzi scheme," according to Canadian authorities.
Quadriga collapsed in 2019 following the death of its founder, Gerald Cotten. The collapse caused 76,000 investors to lose nearly $170 million worth of cryptocurrency. The OSC says that these losses resulted from Cotten's fraudulent activity, noting that he opened multiple Quadriga accounts and created false balances in order to trade against his clients.
