022 is the year of mystery and scams for Netflix. After Inventing Anna, The Tinder Swindler and Bad Vegan: Fame, Fraud, Fugitives, Trust No One: The Hunt for the Crypto King is the newest addition to Netflix’s crime-documentary portfolio.

Directed by Luke Sewell, this documentary follows another string of white collar crime and rich injured parties. Trust No One: The Hunt for the Crypto King follows the story of Gerry Cotten, CEO of Quadriga CX (a crypto currency investment company) who died mysteriously in 2018 while he was in India.

Back when Bitcoin first launched, a lot of people made money on their investment when its price rose. While virtual assets such as crypto currency and non fungible tokens (NFTs) tend to draw interest from a very niche tech market, Bitcoin is more a stable form of virtual money than a passing trend.

As the CEO of Quadriga CX, Cotten appears to be a bright-eyed, charming man looking to make his mark in the tech world. He has invested in Bitcoin before crypto currency was even considered a viable form of assets. However, within a matter of years, Bitcoin has jumped from $100 per unit to an eye-watering $27,000 per unit, making Cotten and his clients millionaires.

As Cotten gets a taste of the high life, he goes on a shopping spree, buying planes and boats. However, crypto currency is fickle and it is only a matter of time before Bitcoin crashes.

It becomes apparent that Cotten may have been involved in some of the shadier aspects of crypto currency. Bitcoin itself is notorious for its appeal among dark web marketplaces due to its anonymous nature, and the lack of jurisdiction around selling and purchasing. 

The crash sends Quadriga CX investors in a frenzy as they exchange intel over message boards about the fate of their investment. As the investors clamour for their money, Cotten dies under very suspicious circumstances in India. He was in septic shock with perforation and intestinal obstruction before he died.

The circumstances of his death give rise to several questions and conspiracy theories in the documentary. Did he really die? Was someone trying to kill him? Or did he fake his death and escape to a utopia with no extradition after getting plastic surgery?

Furthermore, the $190 million in Bitcoin apparently died alongside him, as Cotten was the only one who supposedly held the access codes. This promotes suspicions amongst investors that maybe he didn’t invest their money in Bitcoin at all and they had no way of getting their money back.

It becomes apparent that Cotten may have been involved in some of the shadier aspects of crypto currency. Bitcoin itself is notorious for its appeal among dark web marketplaces due to its anonymous nature, and the lack of jurisdiction around selling and purchasing.

Documentaries about white-collar crime often share patterns, and a lot of the time you can easily use Google to get these facts instead of watching a multi-part series. Trust No One: The Hunt for the Crypto King avoids this pitfall as the story is still developing even after Cotten’s death and Quadriga CX’s bankruptcy. Furthermore, the ambiguity of the circumstances and legality of crypto currency blurs the line between right and wrong. Taking The Tinder Swindler and Inventing Anna for example, it was glaringly obvious who the bad guy in the story was. In Trust No One: The Hunt for the Crypto King, it is far less obvious. Was Cotten really a scammer or did the market crash cause people to lose their money?

With a concise run-time of 90 minutes that avoids filler bloat, this documentary is a riveting look into the world of crypto currency and its perils. The presentation is fast-paced, making this a recommended watch.

The author is a staff member.