TIME Token Collapses 60% Amid Revelation that Co-Founder is a Known Convict

DeFi (Decentralised Finance) project Wonderland has seen its native token TIME collapse 60 percent after it was revealed it had been co-founded by Michael Patryn, also one of the co-founders of the now-defunct Canadian crypto exchange QuadrigaCX.

0xSifu Steps Down as CEO of Wonderland

The co-founder and chief financial officer of the Avalanche-based DeFi protocol Wonderland had been known as OxSifu. A user by the name of zachxbt revealed OxSifu was actually Michael Patryn, who continually changed his identity – to the point of undergoing multiple facial surgeries – to avoid detection by police.

1/ This needs to be shared @0xSifu is the Co-founder of QuadrigaCX, Michael Patryn. If you are unfamiliar that is the Canadian exchange that collapsed in 2019 after the founder Gerald Cotten disappeared with $169m

I have confirmed this with Daniele over messages. pic.twitter.com/qSfWNnQPhr

— ZachXBT (@zachxbt) January 27, 2022

Before he was Michael Patryn, OxSifu went by the name of Omar Dahini, then Omar Patryn. He was part of a criminal organisation called Shadowcrew, whose operations consisted of trafficking stolen credit and identity information using E-gold, a privacy-focused digital currency issued in 1996.

QuadrigaCX was a Canadian crypto exchange owned and operated by Gerald Cotten, who died unexpectedly in 2018, his body cremated before anyone could verify his death. The eerie side is that he took with him more than US$160 million of investors’ money, but Omar (Patryn) and his wife ended up with the majority of the assets.

Everyone ‘Deserves a Second Chance’

Daniele Sesta, the other co-founder of Wonderland, said he knew about Patryn’s criminal past and the numerous Ponzi projects he had led. Despite Patryn’s long criminal record, Sesta decided to keep him on as Wonderland’s treasury manager.

I found out about this one month ago. I am of the opinion of giving second chances, as I have mentioned on Twitter. I’ve seen the community very divided about my choice of maintaining [Patryn] as the treasury manager after finding out who he was and his past.

Daniele Sesta, blog post

This sparked outrage in the Wonderland community, many of whom are accusing Sesta of being Patryn’s accomplice, or even being Patryn himself.

In 2005, he pled guilty to credit and bank fraud

In 2007, he admitted burglary, theft and computer fraud

In 2018, he and his partner “lost access” to $115M in customer funds

I agree that inmates deserve second chances but this is NOT about being convicted.

— nour (@NourHaridy) January 27, 2022

The voting process to remove Patryn from his positions ended on January 29. with the vote 87.56 percent in favour of removing OxSifu against 12.44 percent voting to keep him.

Sesta Swimming in Hot Water

Wonderland members on Twitter, Reddit, Discord, and all other social media channels related to the project, are now questioning Sesta’s legitimacy and his overall financial background.

Did Cotten Really Die?

Gerald Cotten reportedly died from Chrohn’s disease in 2018. The keys to the digital vault containing a massive fortune in Bitcoin were buried with him.

The event was so controversial that it was covered by worldwide media, even inspiring documentaries and movies. As Crypto News Australia reported last year, a documentary titled Dead Man Switch was screened at the Melbourne Film Festival in August, leaving a handful of questions unanswered – including whether he had faked his own death in an elaborate “exit scam”.