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Cold Wallet — official poster
Limited Series — Series Pitch Document
True Crime Financial Thriller
Based on the QuadrigaCX Scandal 8 Episodes
Scroll — the case file
The Hook

Two con men build the world's largest bitcoin exchange. Then one of them dies, and a quarter billion disappears with him.

Gerald Cotten at his workstation
0
Victims
$0M+
Missing Funds
666
Lost Password
Inspired by true events

From basement forums to one of the world's largest bitcoin exchanges

•
Early 2000sOrigin
Two future con men
On the shadowy forums of the early internet, teenage scammer Gerald Cotten meets Oscar Diwali, a con artist tied to the Shadowcrew carding ring.
!
Soon afterArrest
The raid
Oscar is making easy money — until a SWAT team bursts through his door. Prison follows after being convicted of identity fraud.
?
Years laterLaunch
Reunited in Vancouver
Now known as Matthew Peyton, Oscar flies to Vancouver to reunite with Gerald. Matthew pitches Gerry an idea for a crypto exchange, Gerry gets to work coding it.
$
The boomGrowth
Riding the wave
QCX rockets into one of the world's largest bitcoin exchanges, growth far outpacing regulation — and the two enjoy the early success.
The fracture

A failed IPO exposes the fraud — and the money keeps moving anyway

!
After a failed IPOFraud exposed
Matthew walks away
A push to take QCX public collapses. Matthew discovers Gerald has been faking accounts and siphoning funds — and cashes out, terrified of prison.
$
What followedExcess
Nearly a billion moves through QCX
With Matthew gone, crypto goes on an unbelievable run. Gerald and his fiancée live large — real estate, boats, a plane — while he keeps faking the books.
!
January 2018Crash
Bitcoin drops 66%
The price slides through the rest of the year. Gerald is still fabricating deposits and manipulating the exchange regardless.
•
Ahead of the weddingWill & freeze
A new will, then a withdrawal cap
Gerald rewrites his will, naming his wife sole beneficiary. Days later, QCX caps withdrawals at $50,000.
Collapse and mystery

The only person who knew the password is the only person who's gone

!
12 days laterDeath & collapse
Gerald dies, the exchange folds
Gerald dies suddenly in Jaipur. A month later, his wife announces it — the exchange folds, 76,000 users out $250M+, the password gone with him.
?
AftermathInvestigation
Digital vigilantes take over
Reporters, online sleuths and burned customers dig in, uncovering a long history of fraud and a trail of breadcrumbs that leave some asking whether Gerald faked his own death.
?
The evidenceMystery
A death that doesn't add up
A rare fatal complication from Crohn's disease. A misspelled death certificate. A body denied cremation. Every detail spins off a new theory.

▌

The Market

The chart the whole scheme hid behind

Bitcoin, 2014–2018. Every rally funded the lie a little longer — every crash made it a little harder to hide.

BTC / USD  ·  2014–2018  ·  log scale
Peak-to-trough  −81%  in 12 months
− 81% CRASH $200 $1K $5K $20K 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 $19,700 Dec 2017 — all-time high Jan 2018 drops 66% in weeks Dec 2018 Gerald dies, QCX folds
Dec 2017all-time high — $19,700
Jan 2018drops 66% in weeks
Dec 2018Gerald dies, QCX folds
Illustrative reconstruction of BTC/USD, 2014–2018 · approximate, for narrative reference only — the mania and the crash both happen in the world of this story.
Built-in audience

The world is already obsessed

A Death in Cryptoland and Exit Scam are popular podcasts about the Quadriga scandal. The popularity of those series prompted CBC & Netflix to produce documentaries, Dead Man's Switch & Trust No One, respectively.

A Death in Cryptoland — CBC podcast
Exit Scam podcast
Dead Man's Switch — a crypto mystery podcast
Trust No One: The Hunt for the Crypto King — Netflix

Cold Wallet is the first dramatic series inspired by this incredible story, and we aim to capitalize on the intrigue that continues to follow the death of Gerald Cotten and the collapse of Quadriga CX.

Season One

Eight episodes

01 — 2004 02 — Inception 03 — Crypto Boom 04 — Ponzi 05 — Markay 06 — Riding High 07 — Dearly Departed 08 — Cold Wallet
Episode 01

"2004"

Origin
We meet young Gerald, a nerdy teen, expert coder and dabbling hacker. Oscar is a cocky young online scammer, bully, and all-around piece of shit. Meeting in online forums, the two exchange ideas on how get rich quick. While Gerald celebrates a windfall, giving his mom 10k to save the family business, Oscar is busted and sentenced to 18 months for identity theft. Gerald suffers from Crohn's.
Young Gerald's eyes, close up A SWAT team bursts through a bedroom door
Episode 02

"Inception"

Origin
On the heels of massive bank bailouts, Bitcoin, blockchain, and decentralized technology start to gain public confidence. Oscar serves his time and gets deported to Canada where he changes his name. The newly rebranded Matthew Peyton reunites with Gerry in Vancouver and pitches him his idea for a startup crypto exchange. Gerry gets to work coding and Quadriga CX is born.
Up-and-coming musician Colin Becker attends a crypto symposium and meets Matthew Peyton. Gerry swipes right on Tinder and meets his future wife, Jane.
Two men flying remote control planes at sunset A man holding an ID for QuadrigaCX.com verification
Episode 03

"Crypto Boom"

Rise
Stacks of cash become the norm on Gerry's kitchen island, Jane begins working for QCX. As Quadriga's growth outpaces regulation, Matthew and Gerry try to take QCX public. Colin makes bank and instantly reinvests his profit back onto the exchange. Colin Becker performs at Coincon and becomes tight with Matthew and the Crypto community.
A woman stands over stacks of cash on a kitchen island A man speaks at a Quadriga CX crypto symposium podium
Episode 04

"Ponzi"

Standalone
Standalone episode. We flash back to the 1920s to meet Italian immigrant Charles Ponzi. We will learn about his time in Canadian prison, and the birth of the scheme that bears his name. From the fake postal service loophole, to the long lines of eager new "investors," whose money was used to pay off previous participants.
Episode will highlight and nod to the similarities between Ponzi and Quadriga.
A 1920s street scene with a police officer and a streetcar A 1920s mugshot booking photo
Episode 05

"Markay"

Fracture
Due to multiple clerical errors on Gerry's behalf, the duo's plan to go public fails. A new user named Chris Markay deposits 25k into the exchange and Jane notices the ID verification is missing. Colin goes all in, putting his life savings onto the exchange. Matthew confronts Gerry about being the sole controller of Quadriga's assets and accuses him of sabotaging their effort to go public. Gerry finally snaps and shoves a boat load of customer cash into his hands, Matthew leaves. Gerry pitches the "Jane Robson and Gerald Cotten Home For Orphan Children," to be built in Jaipur, India.
Two men confront each other over a pile of cash A hand holds an orphanage dedication plaque
Episode 06

"Riding High"

Excess
With Matthew gone, Gerry holds the reins to one of the world's largest exchanges. Crypto goes on a massive run, with almost a billion dollars being traded. Gerry and Jane travel the world, buy a plane, and snatch up premium real estate. Colin enjoys the windfalls of his trades, until he doesn't. Overnight, Bitcoin crashes 80% and QCX subsequently announces caps on withdraws at 50k/month. People start asking questions, catching the interest of Lisa Lopez, a sharp crypto journalist. Colin tries to contact Gerry to no avail, his life savings are stuck.
A man sailing a yacht at sunset A crashing cryptocurrency price chart on a monitor
Episode 07

"Dearly Departed"

Collapse
Gerry and Jane get married in Scotland. They depart to India on honeymoon to begin construction on the orphanage, but Gerry seems unwell. Colin is unable to withdraw funds and Quadriga stops responding. After an excruciating wait, a mysterious post appears on the QCX Facebook page, announcing Gerald's sudden death one month prior. Colin and thousands of users are devastated and Matthew tries to distance himself from the scandal.
Quadriga CX
January 14, 2019 · 🌐
https://www.quadrigacx.com/gerald-cotten

It is with a heavy heart that we announce the sudden passing of Gerald Cotten, co-founder and CEO of QuadrigaCX. A visionary leader who transformed the lives of those around him, Gerry died due to complications with Crohn's disease on December 9, 2018, while travelling in India, where he was opening an orphanage to provide a home and safe refuge for children in need.

Gerry cared deeply about honesty and transparency—values he lived by in both his professional and personal life. He was hardworking and passionate, with an unwavering commitment to his customers, employees, and family.

Sincerely,
Jane Robson, Estate Executor of Gerald Cotten

A bride and groom hike a mountain ridge A man reads a laptop screen in a dark room
Episode 08

"Cold Wallet"

Aftermath
A misspelled death certificate is one of many inconsistencies leading people to believe he is not truly dead. In a search for answers, Lisa Lopez interviews Colin about Quadriga (not about his new album) and Colin pitches his theory on what really happened to Gerald and the missing money. Investigators concede the money is nowhere to be found, and we see a variety of perspectives of what happened to Gerry. Attempting to silence speculation, Jane releases a book, "The Bitcoin Widow."
Hands examining a redacted death certificate on a laptop A cemetery overlooking the water on an overcast day
Characters
Gerald Cotten at a QuadrigaCX Canada's Best Bitcoin Exchange banner Portrait of Gerald Cotten
The Founder
Gerald Cotten
An unassuming nerd, Gerald's knowledge for coding gave him an edge at the turn of the millennium. His dad left at a young age, turning friendless Gerry toward an insular life spending most of his time online, where he met Oscar Diwali. Gerald's intelligence and boyish naivete are a stark contrast to the man he quickly became, making brash decisions and knowingly robbing 76,000 people of their hard earned cash. Gerald uses his nerdy demeanour to grift people into believing he has their best interests in mind.
Portrait of Oscar Diwali / Matthew Peyton Matthew Peyton reclining with a tiger
The Architect
Oscar Diwali / Matthew Peyton
Oscar may be the brains behind the inception of QuadrigaCX. With no real coding knowledge, his influence over Gerald begins to fade as the exchange slowly turns into a Ponzi scheme. His deep insecurities have built a thick false bravado of a smooth talking cool guy that no one actually likes. A thief from a young age, Oscar was arrested in 2004 for identity theft. 18 months later, upon his release, he changed his name to Matthew Peyton and was deported to Vancouver. Flashy yet private, Oscar was not in the public spotlight during QCX's heyday, but he was certainly enjoying the lifestyle. He is a career criminal who spends the bulk of his time thinking of ways to take rather than earn.
Portrait of Jane Robson Jane Robson and Gerald Cotten on a boat Jane Robson travelling abroad Jane Robson and Gerald Cotten's wedding
The Widow
Jane Robson
A simple swipe on Tinder unknowingly propels Jane into the world of crypto. Though uneasy about what she's seeing, she gladly accepts expensive gifts and begins doing data entry for QCX. She champions a charity orphanage endeavor. People have often questioned her claimed innocence, as she has gone by three different last names, the timing of the will, and the fact that she was left as the sole operator of Quadriga.
Colin Becker black and white portrait Colin Becker performing on stage Colin Becker sitting outdoors Colin Becker holding his baby
The Victim
Colin Becker
Colin represents the thousands of people who were robbed. He's an artist doing what he can to follow his passion, but is quick to make a bold "investment" into QCX and manages to come out on top…at first. Colin has a young family and the viewer is truly invested in his success; the viewer knows when he sinks their life savings into the exchange that this is going to end poorly. Colin is our voice of reason and portrays the trail of victims the grifters left behind. He is likeable, relatable and brings a smidge of humour to our world.
The Team

Who's building this

Miles Forster on set Miles Forster holding ID verification
Miles Forster
Filmmaker & Creative Producer
Miles Forster is a filmmaker and creative producer. He directed the comedy film 37-Teen (2019) and produced The Murdershow (2023), a Tubi Original released through XYZ Films. His additional credits include work on Still/Born and Z, alongside commercial production work for brands including Kellogg's, Lululemon, Best Buy, and Meta.
Billy Wickman portrait Billy Wickman holding ID verification
Billy Wickman
Actor, Writer & Musician
Billy Wickman is an actor, writer, and musician. His acting credits include The Last of Us, Falling Skies, Planet of the Apes, and Hell on Wheels, among others. He studied creative writing and screenwriting at Langara College, and has released three albums as a musician.
Cast

Who plays whom

Henri Roivas
Henri Roivas
As
Gerald Cotten
Rohain Arora
Rohain Arora
As
Matthew Peyton
Billy Wickman
Billy Wickman
As
Colin (Shotts) Becker
Jennie Neumann
Jennie Neumann
As
Jane Robson
Melany Douglas
Melany Douglas
As
Cheryl
Felicia Simone
Felicia Simone
As
Lisa Lopez
Louriza Tronco
Louriza Tronco
As
Charlie Becker
Nova Scout
Nova Scout
As
Shamoyna Nepobaby
Matthew Graham
Matthew Graham
As
Podcast Bro
Cast
TBA
 
As
Podcast Bro
Conspiracies

The theories that won't die

This scandal has birthed many conspiracy theories about the validity of Gerald's death and the missing quarter billion.

The most common and believable is that Gerry is not dead. Between the timing of the will, the misspelled death certificate and the fact that Crohn's is generally not a fatal disease, it is a completely plausible theory. People also theorize that he was taking the customer deposits and gambling them on other cryptocurrencies, specifically Ethereum. The market subsequently crashed, and that's why investigators couldn't locate over half of the $250M that was "exchanged" on QCX.

Fringe theories
  • He was murdered, either by someone he owed money to, an angry investor, or someone trying to force the passwords out of him before he could disappear.
  • Jane having full knowledge of the scheme and fake death.
  • Matthew knew far more about the fraud than he's let on, and quietly walked away clean while Gerald took the public fall (and, eventually, the "death").
  • Matthew is the reason the funds were untraceable — many point to his past expertise in encryption and covering digital tracks as evidence he helped make the money genuinely untraceable.
Online comment thread speculating about Gerald Cotten's death and the missing funds
Exhibit — public speculation, gathered online
Future Seasons

Crypto keeps producing true crime — we keep telling it

Cold Wallet is built as an anthology. Season One closes the book on Gerald Cotten and QuadrigaCX — but the format doesn't need him to survive. Every future season is a self-contained limited series built the same way: a real collapse, a cast of true believers and grifters, and a pile of money that never quite adds up. Crypto has produced a new one every year since; we won't run out of material.

Candidate — Season Two
The Golden Boy
FTX & Sam Bankman-Fried
The wunderkind of crypto builds a $32 billion exchange on a foundation of effective-altruist branding and a secretive sister hedge fund. Behind the rumpled t-shirts and Super Bowl ads, customer deposits are quietly funneled into Alameda Research to cover its bets. The whole thing unravels in a nine-day bank run — $8 billion in customer funds gone, a trial watched by the world, and a 25-year sentence.
Convicted 2024 · sentence upheld on appeal, June 2026
Candidate — Season Three
The Algorithm
Terra/Luna & Do Kwon
A brilliant, arrogant founder promises a stablecoin that needs no collateral — just an algorithm and belief. For a while it works, and true believers pile in their savings. Then, in May 2022, it doesn't: $40 billion evaporates in days. Do Kwon runs for over a year across multiple countries before his arrest in Montenegro on forged documents — extradited, convicted, and sentenced to 15 years, with a second trial still looming in South Korea.
Guilty plea 2025 · sentenced 15 years, December 2025
Candidate — Season Four
Unbank Yourself
Celsius Network & Alex Mashinsky
A charismatic CEO builds a $25 billion crypto lender on a single promise, chanted at every town hall: your money is safer with us than with the banks. "Unbank Yourself" becomes gospel to true believers who hand over their life savings for double-digit yield. In June 2022, Celsius freezes every withdrawal overnight — customers locked out for good while Mashinsky is later revealed to have cashed out his own holdings for millions right before the freeze.
Sentenced 12 years, May 2025 · appeal filed 2026