OneCoin
A multi-level-marketing scheme based in Bulgaria that sold a cryptocurrency with no underlying blockchain or value. Per the U.S. DOJ, victims invested more than $4 billion. Co-founder Ruja Ignatova ('Cryptoqueen') remains a fugitive.
Also known as: OneCoin, Ruja Ignatova, Cryptoqueen, Karl Sebastian Greenwood
Summary
OneCoin was a multi-level-marketing (MLM) operation founded in 2014 and based in Sofia, Bulgaria, that marketed and sold a cryptocurrency of the same name. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the scheme took in more than $4 billion from at least 3.5 million victims, and prosecutors stated that OneCoin "had no actual value". [1][3]
How it operated
Prosecutors said OneCoin was structured as a global MLM network that paid commissions for recruiting new buyers, and that its price was set by the operators rather than any market. [1][2] U.S. officials described it as "one of the largest fraud schemes ever perpetrated". [1]
People and outcome
Co-founder Karl Sebastian Greenwood pleaded guilty and was sentenced in 2023 to 20 years in prison and ordered to forfeit $300 million. [1][3] Co-founder Ruja Ignatova, known as the "Cryptoqueen", disappeared in 2017, was added to the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list in 2022, and remains at large. [1][3]
Bracketed numbers refer to the numbered sources listed below.
People & entities involved
- Ruja IgnatovaCo-founderIndividualsCo-founder of OneCoin, the multi-level-marketing scheme that the U.S. DOJ says took in more than $4 billion. Known as the 'Cryptoqueen', she disappeared in 2017 and is on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list.
- Karl Sebastian GreenwoodCo-founder & promoterIndividualsCo-founder and lead promoter of OneCoin. Pleaded guilty and was sentenced in 2023 to 20 years in prison and ordered to forfeit $300 million.
- Konstantin IgnatovLeader (after Ignatova)
Sources (3)
See also
- Loci (LOCIcoin)TokensA 2017–2018 ICO for 'LOCIcoin' tied to the InnVenn IP-search platform. The SEC charged Loci and CEO John Wise with fraud for raising $7.6M on false claims about revenue, headcount, and user base; Wise also misused investor funds. Settled with a $7.6M penalty and an officer/director bar.
- Blockchain Terminal (BCT)TokensA 2017–2018 ICO (BCT tokens, ~$30M) for a 'Blockchain Terminal' — a Bloomberg-style crypto trading terminal. The SEC and DOJ said convicted ex-hedge-funder Boaz Manor secretly ran it under a fake identity ('Shaun MacDonald'), using associate Edith Pardo as a front, and lied about the product's adoption.
- Crowd Machine (CMCT)Tokens
This page was last updated on Jun 8, 2026. View revision history.