QuadrigaCX was a Canadian cryptocurrency exchange founded by Gerald “Gerry” Cotten in 2013. By 2017, the company had amassed over 350,000 customers. Cotten had harnessed all of the private keys to users’ wallets, which allowed him to transfer almost $200 million to other exchanges and support his high-end lifestyle. Over a hundred thousand customers were left without a way to withdraw their funds. It was later revealed that Cotten had taken all of the funds for himself and used QuadrigaCX as a Ponzi scheme.
OneCoin was the cryptocurrency that seemed too good to be true… and unfortunately, it was. This Ponzi scheme was masterminded by none other than the infamous “Cryptoqueen” Ruja Ignatova, a Bulgarian entrepreneur who promised investors the moon and the stars. But the real story behind OneCoin is like something out of a Hollywood thriller. After swindling investors out of a mind-boggling $4 billion, Ignatova vanished into thin air in 2017, leaving behind a wake of angry investors and a whole lot of unanswered questions.
BitConnect was the talk of the town — a lending and exchange platform that promised big returns, all powered by their very own BitConnect Coin. With its charismatic founder Satish Kumbhan leading the charge, it was no surprise that BitConnect was generating a lot of buzz. The hype reached new heights in 2018 when an investor named Carlos Matos became a viral sensation for his over-the-top performance at a BitConnect event, where he couldn’t stop raving about the platform. But little did he know, the party was about to come crashing down.