Next on Netflix : Trust No One – The Hunt for the Crypto King

Another day, another Netflix docudrama filled with mystery and intrigue. Trust No One is a contemporary tale of a man, a scam and a wallet stuffed full of someone else’s bitcoin. Throw in a sudden death, 115,000 victims and a missing $200 million and it’s a truly wild ride.

The titular Crypto King is Jerry Cotton, an unassuming 30-something guy. In 2013 he founded QuadrigaCX, what would become Canadas main bitcoin exchange, raking in a % of every transaction as eager punters exchanged cash for crypto. By 2017, dubious transactions were happening.

In 2018, users began to report they were unable to access their funds or initiate transfers. Real life victims of QuadrigaCX give tearful testimony detailing their frustration at being blocked from their life savings and the Globe Newspaper investigated. Quadriga gave excuses.

Then in 2019, Jerrys previously unheard-of wife announced his sudden death due to complications of Crohn’s disease, purporting he was the only one with passwords to access the exchange. QuadrigaCX's URL went down and with it, almost $200 million dollars of customers’ investments.

Was Jerrys death a tragic event or the best executed exit scam ever? Is he really dead and buried or living la vida loca under a new identity on some far-flung island? Has he been to a Bermuda surgeon for facial modification, evading authorities and living off ill gotten gains?

Internet sleuths and netizens have had a field day with the case, including many of Jerrys victims left assetless. A silent co-founder, a mysterious new wife and a last will amended 2 weeks before the trip to India? An untimely overseas death by a non-life-threatening disease?

Netflix are unrivalled experts at this format of internet-age ‘whodunnit’. The inherent structure of the docudrama may get repetitive, but therein lies the beauty. A comforting binge, viewers knows exactly what to expect; weird stories, sketchy characters, and insane situations.

The sorry tale of QuadrigaCX serves as a reminder that cryptocurrency is not the same as cash. Victims of embezzlement and fraud have few rights, platforms can trade without registering. Towards the end of its existence, the sham company did not keep accounts or engage a lawyer.

Trust No One : The Hunt for the Crypto King is worth a watch if you don’t understand crypto, bitcoin or how blockchain works. Or how operating a sophisticated cyber based Ponzi scheme, extracting $200 million dollars from unsuspecting bitcoin aficionados can be so... doable.

As for Jerry Cotton, I'm not entirely sure his story is over yet.

He wouldn't be the first CEO to fake his own death and make off with millions, and probably not the last either.