Patryn was involved in Quadriga from the start, helping Cotten establish one of Canada’s first Bitcoin exchanges. Patryn discussed those early days in an email exchange with Bloomberg. He and Cotten worked together at nonprofit organizations such as Vancouver’s Bitcoin Co-op, providing assistance with education and user adoption on the topic, he said in an email last month.
Cotten, who served as chief executive, recounted in a 2014 podcast how he and a partner he didn’t name were working on the idea since August 2013 and by Dec. 26 launched the Quadriga platform and set up a Bitcoin ATM in a West Coast city known for early forays into crypto and blockchain.
Patryn said he departed three years ago over a “fundamental disagreement" with Cotten on his decision to halt the listing process for the firm.
“On the day of our disagreement, I left the company and ceased being privy to operational decisions," he wrote. “Since that time, I have not been involved in the operations or management of any of the Quadriga companies."
Patryn said he stopped being close to Cotten after that, though he heard from the founder weeks before his death.
“I spoke with him in November, when he sent me a message on my birthday," Patryn said. “I did not know that he was married, or in India until the official announcement of his death."
This article provided by Bloomberg News.