Jennifer Robertson met her husband, Bitcoin entrepreneur Gerald Cotten, on Tinder. As their relationship flourished, so did Cotten’s company, QuadrigaCX, and the twentysomethings soon became wealthy beyond their wildest dreams.

Then, at age thirty, Cotten suddenly died. Overnight, their dream life became Robertson’s worst nightmare. Cotten possessed the only keys to the online vaults where his customers’ investments were supposedly stored.

No one knew where to find $215 million belonging to more than 76,000 investors. “Part of me felt as though our life together had been a dream, the best dream you could ever imagine, and now it was time to wake up," says Robertson. "But to what?"

This week, Sheena Rossiter is in conversation with Jennifer Robertson. Robertson is a former HR specialist and property manager whose life was turned upside down in the Quadriga scandal. And, in her new book with journalist Stephen Kimber, Bitcoin Widow: Love, Betrayal and the Missing Millions, she shares her side of the story for the first time.

We hear how Jennifer Robertson met Gerald Cotten, the founder of QuadrigaCX, and what their life together was like before Cotten died. 

We learn how Robertson was kept in the dark about what was happening inside Quadriga.

Robertson then explains how Cotten died in India and why she waited a month to announce his death. 

She then talks about how her life has changed since Cotten’s death and how she feels like a scapegoat in the scandal. 

Then Robertson speaks about why she decided to write her book and whether she thinks the Quadriga debacle will follow her for the rest of her life.  

Finally, we check in on what we're talking about this week at The Walrus.

• Confessions of a Bitcoin Widow: How a Dream Life Turned into a Nightmare 

• North Korea’s Mysterious Cryptocurrency Ambitions
• Will Cryptocurrency Be Alberta’s Next Big Boom?
• Is Canada Broken?

Facebook @thewalrus

Twitter @thewalrus 

Instagram @thewalrus

Looking to get in touch about the podcast? You can reach us at [email protected]. 

Hosted and produced by Sheena Rossiter and Angela Misri, with editing by Sheena Rossiter

Music provided by Audio Jungle. Our theme song is “This Podcast Theme” by Inplus Music Additional music: “Stay Cool” by Loops Lab and “Podcast Intro” by Inplus Music. “Moment” by Serge Quadrado, “Piano Moment” by Zakhar Valaha, provided by Pixabay.

Additional Sources: CBC and CTV